The Force of Others
by Guard of the Heradi
Summary: "Trade that necklace for a glimpse into your future." A single ship hurtles for the surface of Scarif, and provides more than just a glimpse... Told exclusively from the testimony of observers, a story of how Captain Andor and Sergeant Erso cheated death, and where they would have slotted alongside the canon history. Last edited: 25/05/2017 (Chapters I-III)
1. Pilot

There are lots of fix-it stories for Rogue One; this is mine. It's all done; chapters will be released after I have edited them to my liking, and they will vary widely in length. I'll try to get each chapter out after a couple of days, and I will probably return and tweak things (like where I find more typos...) here and there.

To give you an inkling of what follows, this story was originally titled _Testimony_ , but I ended up preferring the title I've given it now. I've attempted to keep the entire thing to canon, with the obvious exception of the deaths of Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor on Scarif, but please forgive me where things slip.

I think this might be my favourite fanfiction I've written. I had three days off work, and I was writing until dawn, and I loved the experience of watching these amazing characters, reading tons of material on Wookiepedia, and being painfully sleep-deprived. So, y'know, don't be a troll, and please enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: no, I'm not making any money from this, no, most of the characters aren't mine, rights belong to George Lucas and bunch of other people, blah blah.

* * *

THE FORCE OF OTHERS

* * *

 _I'm one with the Force, and the Force is with me. I'm one with the Force, and the Force is with me. I'm -_

 **We. We are one with the Force, and the Force is with us.**

Ye-yeah. We're one with the Force, and the Force… the Force is with us.

 _ **We're one with the Force, and the Force is with us.**_

 _ **We're one with the Force, and the Force is with us. We're one with the Force, and the Force is with us. We're one with the Force, and the Force is with us.**_

 _ **And we fear nothing, for all is as the Force wills it.**_

Before the Death Star even appeared out of hyperspace, as the shield over Scarif disintegrated, a single U-wing ship pulled away and dived towards the surface.

* * *

PILOT

* * *

Look, I... I don't know why I chose to sprint to Scarif to look for survivors, okay?

What had I been thinking? I mean, really... what was I thinking?! No one asked me to do it, there were no orders, no expectations. I didn't really know any of the crew of Rogue One, as they'd called themselves; I owed none of them anything, and I wouldn't have mourned their passing in any particular way other than to honour them as the heroes that they were. I had no reason to go.

Up until then I'd done my best; I was meant to deploy additional ground troops to support them on the beach, but I had to pull up when the shield over Scarif was reactivated, so I did as I was told and returned everyone to the _Tantive IV._ I had been reporting in when…

… _**The Force is with us.**_

I didn't think at all. Absolutely nothing at any conscious level. I simply turned around, went back to the U-wing, and set course as fast as the shuttle could. I could hear on the edge of my awareness shouts from Hangar Control to stop, but I didn't, and no one did more than shout. The locks on the ship weren't on; nothing was in my way.

I nearly crashed in the sand, yanking the nose of the ship up at the last moment and set the computer to look for anyone still living. The beach was littered with the unmoving, be it dressed in worn dark cotton or polished white shielding. Amongst all the dead Rebels and Stormtroopers there was even a monk and a mercenary. I saw the Death Star appear in the blue sky, saw the green beam strike the tower, turning the satellite dish to ash. Saw the mushroom cloud on the horizon… finally, the computer beeped a result.

A man and woman, collapsed to their knees at the water's edge, hands clasped together, waited for death.

Maybe... maybe it was a good thing that I wasn't thinking. For a moment - with annihilation coming, every nanosecond counted - the two just stared at the blaster-scarred shuttle, as though they couldn't believe I was there, that there was a way out. And then the face of the woman morphed to something extraordinary... I had never seen anyone look as determined as she did. She scrambled to her feet, yanked up the man into her arms, taking his weight on her shoulders and dragged him to their salvation, screamed at me to go already before she had even swung herself on, having nearly thrown her companion on to the deck first.

The shuttle turned slowly, or so it felt, as the death-cloud hurtled towards us, roaring hungrily. The man limped painfully into the co-pilot's seat and started punching in the calculations to jump into hyperspace, anywhere that was not here.

"We'll never make it otherwise…" he said. The woman stood right behind him, watching the Death Star's shockwave as the shuttle turned away from it, her hand on his shoulder, her knuckles whitening as our odds dwindled.

I didn't know this, would never know this, but neither these two had ever cared about odds.

The hull of the shuttle rattled from sand flicking against -

"Punch it."

I'd never jumped to hyperspace so close to a planet before. I'd always been told that it was not advised. I wish I'd known earlier that the man sat next to me was Cassian Andor, and that only a few days ago he'd done the same jump in near the exact same circumstances; it might have reassured me in that moment. Nevertheless, the streaking stars had never looked so beautiful… for a moment there I thought I would never see this sight again.

He didn't see them. The strain of the jump was too much on his injuries, and he lost consciousness. Whilst I was in awe of the stars, she was yelling his name the instant his head rolled.

I still wasn't thinking. I couldn't help but watch her. She was so… she turned his chair around, took in his paled, clammy face and grasped it in her hands, pleading with him to not leave her now, to not leave her too.

 **Stardust…**

It was when she said 'too' that I started keying in the co-ordinates of Yavin IV. It simply didn't register to me that it was against protocol to proceed straight to the base, lest anyone follow us. He needed help, she needed help. Help was at the base. I made the jump.

I think my first proper thoughts were when my feet touched the ground. The instant we dropped out of hyperspace I had to transmit the security codes so we wouldn't be shot down by our own, had to request immediate medical support upon landing. The whole time she held on to him, tears streaming down that extraordinary face. Even when they lifted Captain Andor on to the stretcher she wouldn't let go of his hand, ran at his side as they wheeled him in.

My first thought was, 'who was she...?'

I don't... I don't have any answers. I've only got even more questions. I don't know why I saved them. I really... I really don't. Stop giving me credit for it, and stop giving me crap for it. _I don't know_.

I heard snippets around the base over the days after. Everyone was sorrowful after the bloodbath at Scarif, anxious about the fate of Princess Leia and the fleet. Not many of those who left for Scarif came back. I found out their names, Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor, the only two survivors of Scarif. I got teased and congratulated in equal measure for saving their lives out of stupidity and bravery. I found out about Rogue One, and what they'd risked everything for.

I'm glad I found out before Alderaan.

* * *

Last edited: 25/05/2017.


	2. Nurse

NURSE

* * *

I'm glad to say that, over the course of my career, only one patient ended up more injured whilst under my supervision than when they were admitted. It most certainly wasn't my fault.

My first patients during the War. I was a volunteer, had just arrived before the Battle of Scarif. These two were the only ones who returned from the Citadel Tower; the only survivors of Rogue One.

The remainder of the fleet - so many ships were destroyed above the tropical planet - would not be expected for several days, so for a brief time they were my only patients in the hospital in the Great Temple of Massassi. Standard protocol for a retreat was to scatter so that the Empire would not be able to track them back to the base. The Togruta pilot who brought them was therefore dragged off to be questioned as to why he had so suddenly disobeyed all orders, all procedure, and had returned so swiftly. I can't imagine they got much information out of him; he looked like he'd been drugged. The doctor said the last time he saw someone look like that they'd encountered a Jedi.

There are many reasons why I never forgot these two, not least because of the reasons above. I remember so much so clearly, from the moment I set eyes on them in the hangar.

The woman - she looked so much older than me, but she was my age, we were still just girls - looked away from the man once, to look over her shoulder fiercely, as though ready to stand against any threat that would harm him further. Her face filled instantly with relief when she saw my white uniform, and then immediately returned all of her attention to him.

"… Cassian, come on, we're _home_ , please don't…" She broke off with that beg. I think she was trying not to cry, her whole face was grimacing.

Cassian - the man looked older than his years too - was slumped in the co-pilot's seat, and woke when we moved him on to a stretcher with a loud grunt, his jaw clenching against the pain. Blood was dribbling out of his nose; the girl had it on her hands, thus had it on his hand that she was holding on so tightly to. She didn't let go all the way to the medical bay, running with a limp, babbling the whole way.

"… You're not kriffing dying on me now, Cassian... think... think of how annoyed K would be…"

He gave a spluttery laugh at that, grimacing at the pain his own mirth rumbled out of the injuries in his torso, his knuckles whitening around her fingers, making her wince too.

"Jyn... I wonder… what the… what odds K-2 would give me…?" He wondered aloud, wheezing. Broken ribs, I suspected, putting too much pressure on his lungs after the jump into hyperspace.

She laughed despite herself, the laugh hiccoughing out of her. "You've never cared for his odds. He really would be annoyed with you, if you started giving a damn now." He tried to smile in response, but then the stretcher hit a bump on the floor, and his eyes rolled from the excruciation and passed out.

What an odd pair.

She had to let go of his hand when we lifted him from the stretcher to the scanner bed, refused to go far as doctors milled around his unconscious body. I turned to her, tried to encourage her away so I could look over the leg that she was limping on. She looked like... she was a wreck. Her brown hair was plastered to her forehead from sweat, blood and dirt. She had cuts and scrapes sported on every visible inch of skin. I think she realised that her hand was shaking, because she kept clenching it to try and make it stop, and it wasn't working. I suspect she wanted to vomit, because she kept swallowing hard every now and then. She yanked her arm away from me once, then twice, then shoved me back, not looking at me once. "No, _no_ , I'm not leaving aga-" Again? I tried to calm her, reassure her, but a medibot was approaching, its arms reaching out to grab hold of her.

She finally took her eyes away from him when she spun to backhand the robot, hitting it so hard on its metallic head that it nearly lost balance, but she instantly bit back a scream, clutching her wrist, having broken it. She still didn't let us touch her, and we were reluctant to in case she injured herself - or one of us - further. She just stood there, waiting to find out if her friend was okay, sweating from the pain of her new injury.

She stood there, in considerable pain, for hours. A sucker for punishment, or... the man being operated on must have meant a hell of a lot to her.

Senator Mothma and General Draven came, the latter frowning at Jyn's presence before the two mutually ignored each other, whilst the former seemed relieved to see her. One of the surgeons came out to give an early update on Captain Andor's condition; he'd been shot in the side by a blaster, blessedly only scraping past with burns, but the worst damage was from several falls; he'd broken and/or fractured his femur, tibia and fibula, had several broken ribs on both sides. Most concerning was that he'd hit the back of his head, so they were going to have to operate to relieve the pressure. On top of which they'd lost count of the number of bruises he had everywhere else. He'd live though, the surgeon reported confidently. They would put the leg in a cast, sessions in the bacta tank would help with the ribs, and whilst he would walk again, it was unlikely that he'd be able to run the same.

When the surgeon said Cassian would live Jyn fell to her knees with a relieved whimper, her strength finally spent. For a chilling moment I thought the General seemed disappointed about the prognosis, but he thanked the surgeon and left. It would not be the last time I saw commanders struggling with selfishness as they realised that their comrades wouldn't be able to help them fight anymore. Finally Jyn turned her attention away from the Operating Room door where her friend was, and blinked up at me as though finally seeing me for the first time.

"Umm…" she started, for the first time uncertain of herself. "I'm sorry about… before. Err…" And she looked down at her arm that she was cradling, the leg that she wasn't sitting her weight on. I simply nodded - I was petrified of her, after the force of the glare that she'd sent General Draven's direction that had halted him from approaching her - and helped her to her feet and led her to the nearest bed. I suspected she would refuse to go any further.

I found that the Force had been on her side; she'd sprained her ankle, had indeed broken her wrist. Other than that she was littered with scratches, the odd deeper cut, bruises... a lucky escape really. After they sent Captain Andor for his first bacta treatment one of the surgeons reset her wrist, bound it up in a cast and a sling, and I cleaned up her other wounds with antiseptic and the odd stitch, put ice-packs on her ankle, gave her some painkillers. In the captain's absence however I saw the shock take hold, saw her mind vanish elsewhere; she barely noticed the surgeon working on her wrist, and I doubt that it was anything to do with the local anaesthesia.

She was instantly alert however when they brought Captain Andor out, limping forward towards his bed. I wisely didn't stop her, just stayed close incase she lost her balance. She practically barked at the doctor to tell her whether he was alright, and the doctor immediately spluttered out that the outlook was positive, that the scans were showing normal brain activity, that he would probably wake up in a few hours, but that there would be long weeks of physiotherapy to get him back on his feet. Jyn glared at her still. The doctor finally got the hint, and said the three words she needed to hear the most.

"He'll be fine."

Again, the tension in her shoulders eased instantly, and she nodded a few times, thanked the doctor so quietly I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't hear her. The poor woman escaped as quickly as she could after seeing that the patient's monitors were working as they ought. A steady heart beat echoed in clinical, reassuring beeps.

The man who was unconscious before us looked shockingly different to the man who had come in. His head had been shaven, was an ugly mess of surgical tape, making him look fragile. His chest, covered with black bruises and dressings to his injured side, rose and fell. A blanket preserved his dignity over his crotch at least, but his right leg was framed with splints and bandaged from thigh to ankle. His toes peeked out from the blanket; seemingly the only part of him that had got away unscathed. He had a drip attached to his hand, sensors on his pulse. The blood hadn't been wiped from under his nose properly.

I'd been trained to deal with this. I had done a residency in a hospital on Hosnian Prime, but it still... it shocked me. This is war, I thought. This is what surviving looks like. I had to remind myself that those who died often looked even worse, though of course there was no comfort in any of it. People shouldn't be made to look like this at all. People shouldn't be torn apart like this.

I knew by then that there was no point in trying to get Jyn to move away, so I went and got a chair. By the time I got back she was holding his hand again with her good hand, gingerly tucking the blanket up around his shoulders with the fingers of her cast hand, the sling hanging empty round her neck for a moment. She smiled tersely at the sight of the chair, sat down heavily, scooted it closer to him. I went to fetch another, to put up her swollen ankle, fetched more ice. I paused as I headed back; her injured hand was hesitating over his face, and then she tenderly stroked his forehead with the backs of her fingers, where his hairline was.

She'd intimidated a general into retreat, put a dent in a medibot, intimidated the entire medical staff into tiptoeing around her, and more or less ignored me when I came to prop up her ankle. But for Cassian Andor as he slept, frail and defenceless, she was all gentleness. She let go of his hand only to take a tissue and wipe away the blood from under his nose, dabbed at the moisture left on his cheeks from the bacta.

It was a different story when he woke. I saw her jump to her feet - his hand must have been twitching in hers - and he croaked out her name as he woke, trying to move every inch that would obey into trying to find her, panicking. Her good hand was instantly on his shoulder, trying to hold him down.

"Cassian, you need to stay still, stop - _stop moving!_ "

He froze for a moment, seeing nothing but her, and seized her shoulders too, petrified for her. "Jyn… what… argh…"

He sunk backwards as the pain hit him, one hand clutching his burnt side, biting his lip, his fingers fisting in Jyn's shirt. She let go of his shoulder, grasped his remaining hand with hers. "We're safe. We're back, at the base. We're… _we're home_."

The fight fled out of the captain, and he breathed hard against the pain, his eyes wide and darting around his surroundings. The doctor appeared and started checking the captain's wounds, checking that he hadn't made things worse. The poor man looked down at himself in the bed; the blanket had fallen down his chest again, thankfully pooling around his middle, kicked off his bruised but unbroken leg. He saw the tube stuck in the back of his hand, raised it timidly to his shorn scalp. The doctor answered his unspoken question, started listing his injuries, the success of his surgery, and a broad summary of the therapies he'd undergo now. I'd read his medical notes as we waited for him to wake; there was a lot to read. He'd been shot and stabbed and beaten so many times it didn't surprise me that it didn't seem to particularly phase him. He'd been shot before, broken bones before. All in a day's work.

The doctor gave Cassian a shot for the pain, and headed away with the simple advice to rest for now. Alone at his bedside, Jyn summed it up with a sardonic smile. "You managed to kriff yourself up quite nicely."

He humphed out a laugh, winced as it jarred his ribs. He then frowned. "Did… did they get the…?"

Whilst he was asleep, Senator Mon Mothma had returned alone, her ethereal presence setting her apart from the medical team despite the matching white of her robes. She'd spoken to Jyn quietly, but… well, I couldn't help but overhear. It sounded like they, Jyn and Cassian and many others, had been on a mission on Scarif to find something of extreme importance. I guessed when Jyn sighed with relief that whatever it was they'd found it and got it to the Alliance - I heard Princess Leia's name - but guessed by the worried looks on both women's faces at the end of the conversation that something might have gone wrong. When she left, Mon Mothma spoke to me gently. "Whatever those two need, please make sure they get it."

Jyn nodded, holding back on their uncertainty for now. "Yeah, they got them. They're on their way back with them. We did it…" Her voice cracked on the last, smiling down at him in relief, in awe. They'd survived...

She was pretty when she smiled. I'm absolutely certain that I wasn't the only one who thought that either.

The captain smiled back, relieved too. His hand had slipped down Jyn's arm to her elbow whilst the doctor had been there, and I saw his thumb rub into her arm, making him frown as he noticed her slung up wrist. He swallowed, his throat still dry. As I prepared water, I heard him ask her, "what… what happened to your hand?"

I could almost hear her grin. "Promise me you won't laugh?"

He was already clutching his sore ribs when I got there with the water, laughing and wincing in turn. His hand was back in hers again.

They were still talking by the time my shift was over, late at night. He'd slept for a bit, when the painkillers took effect. She'd dozed in the chair next to him. When he woke, she did, feeling the shift in his hand again. He must have asked her how her ankle was, asked to see, as she then gingerly lifted it on to the edge of his bed, and they both grimaced at how swollen and black the bruises were. The extra elevation however must have felt more relieving; she shifted her chair to sit more comfortably, closer to him, her leg lifted up next to his, his hand on her knee ensuring her balance. I saw the shifts in their conversation. I think he must have asked if anyone else had survived, must have already known the answer. Several tangents later they were smiling again; I overheard her quote someone, "congratulations, you are being rescued". A friend perhaps. Even those in mourning can still make jokes. We have to.

I heard later that she was given a commission - gossip in the canteen told that the council were mixed about Senator Mothma's insistence - and given her own quarters, but I swear she spent barely any time in them. During the day she only left the sick bay when she was directly summoned to. It wasn't until I did a string of night shifts that I found out she would leave for the night when the captain insisted that she go get some sleep, threatening her with self-injury and later her own injuries as his therapy progressed, but during the night she'd often come back, looking exhausted but wired. Nightmares, I guessed. I did ask her, but she evaded the question, so at first I just always remembered to leave a chair for her, then told her to sleep in the neighbouring bed whenever it was available. She declined my offer of sleeping pills. A couple of times the nightmares woke her up again, her hand either searching under her pillow or for something or someone in front of her.

A few days after they arrived, when the hospital was full of others bearing injuries from the Battle of Scarif, Jyn came back from a summons. Pale as death, at his insistence she told Cassian about Alderaan's complete destruction, and burst into desperate sobs. I don't think he'd ever seen her cry before - I wonder how long they had known each other? Must have been years - appeared more shocked at the sight of her gasping for breath as tears poured down her face, suffering so much her body trembled with it, than with the news itself. He pulled her into his arms, not for a moment caring about his sore ribs, or the awkward position it put them in; him sitting up in his hospital bed, she bent over the edge to cry into his shoulder.

He told her "it wasn't his fault", over and over. It was when he told her "it'll never happen again, we're going to destroy it" that something changed in his face, and he swung himself over the edge of the bed, and practically ordered her to help him stand. For once she did as she was told, with only the briefest of hesitations, and they took a few awkward, slow steps, him hopping, barking at everyone to keep away when they went to interfere, careful not to put his cast leg to the floor, wincing as each hop jostled his ribs. When the pain got too much he stopped, looking proud nonetheless that he'd managed to make it that far, looked down at Jyn, tucked under his arm holding his weight, and pulled her properly into his embrace with his other arm, both of them burying their faces into the shoulder of the other, as though this had been the purpose all along.

Eventually she coaxed him back to his bed. That night she didn't leave, and no one asked her to. She woke screaming in the middle of the night; Cassian had to shout her name even louder for her to hear him.

Their bruises purpled, and yellowed, then faded altogether. His hair returned, a dark fuzz over his scalp, making him look more like a soldier. With time, although earlier than the doctors would have liked, the captain was testing his weight back on his good leg every day, Jyn blackmailed into being his crutch, having had enough of bed rest. When Princess Leia returned to the base, the only survivor of the _Tantive IV_ on board the _Millennium Falcon_ , Captain Andor checked himself out. Jyn got him a wheelchair, and helped him to his quarters. I was afraid that that would be the last I would see of them, but as engineers poured over the plans of the Death Star, the Alliance's new hope, she brought him back for all of his bacta and physiotherapy appointments, whether he wanted to or not, regardless of the meetings they were missing.

I saw them a few times outside the sickbay, he on crutches or in the wheelchair, her wincing from her sore sprain but walking normally as we'd advised her. Nothing particularly interesting, I suppose; just in the canteen eating together, and heading to meetings through the corridors of the Great Temple. I never saw them separately; he was dependent on her in order to get around, but I remember so clearly when they brought him in, the ferociousness in her at the slightest suggestion that she leave his side. That dependency ran both ways.

I saw them at the celebration. People were dancing in the hangar. One of my other patients from Scarif, an engineer from one of the surviving Hammerhead Corvettes who'd been hit with shrapnel when one of the consoles exploded, asked me to dance in thanks. As he twirled me round I spotted them...

She was giggling up at him, holding him up to dance too, turning him on the same spot so he didn't put any weight on his healing leg. He was grinning down at her, then just smiling, then...

My dance partner spun me round again...

And when I saw them again his lips were melded to hers, his arms holding her chest-to-chest around her shoulders, fingers in her long, loose hair as she clung to his waist.

I've always felt like I wasn't the only one watching them… that someone - no, not one, a few - were smiling too.

I hope they stayed together, looked after each other as the Rebel Alliance trekked across the Galaxy looking for another place to call home for a time. I wish I'd seen it.

* * *

Last edited: 25/05/2017


	3. Ground Control

GROUND CREW SUPERVISOR

* * *

I made the connections much, much later, I'm ashamed to admit. We evacuated so many people… and I was still hungover from the celebrations, but don't tell my CO that.

It was dawn. I was… I was pretty drunk. My mate and I, we'd gone for a piss in the jungle, because someone was puking in the toilets just off the hangar... anyway, I'm coming back and I see this couple. There's this fallen tree, ancient thing, been smoothed by the wind, everyone goes out there for a pipe or a rendezvous or just a breather. It's a cute spot to watch the suns rise, if you happen to be awake that early in the morning, and that morning it was a beauty. Layers of twilight blue with burning pink and purple as each sun curved out of the horizon... if you're, y'know, into that kind of thing. I looked around, and realised stupidly that they weren't the only ones watching, and also that my friend was taking his sweet time so I guessed it wasn't just a pee he needed, but anyway, I couldn't help it, I was still watching this couple.

They were human, a man and woman, in their twenties I reckon. She'd got this massive blue, fur-lined coat round her shoulders - his, I guess, looked far too big for her - and her arm was peeking out to go round his lower back, her hand in a really thick, fingerless glove. I mention the coat because the fur-trim on the hood was so thick it kept blocking my vision of them kissing, but it was… I don't know. Most couples, when they go out there for some affection it's all tongues and groping and stumbling off into the trees to do quite a bit more than that. In fact, that was being demonstrated quite enthusiastically by another couple at the other end of the field. But this was…

Unhurried. Like they had all the time in the world. All the time in the galaxy to enjoy this fleeting moment, when we'd all been saved by the slimmest of chances working out and the rest of us were still pumped with adrenaline. Savoured, like this was the best way to celebrate being alive, rather than humping like rabbits, like that other couple had just gotten up to go and do.

Loving, like they would do this for the rest of their lives, Force willing.

As long as my friend wasn't a complete nerf-herder and didn't belch so loudly it echoed across the field, distracting everyone and earning some glares and titters. The couple startled too, the boyfriend more amused than the girlfriend, who glared so harshly over her shoulder that my friend started whispering apologies instead of self-congratulating himself. The woman turned away, unimpressed, and the man just grinned at her reaction. He kissed her forehead, rubbed her shoulders over his coat, waited patiently for her to tilt her head back up to him so he could kiss her again, short and sweet, before the two turned back to the sunsrise, her head leaning on his shoulder, his on top of hers. They fitted like maglocks.

I know what it was now, what made me notice them so specifically. There was an empty wheelchair a few feet away. With the tree in the way I'd wondered which one of them was meant to be in it. Except... I swear that the wheelchair wasn't empty, that I saw someone sitting in it for a second. Young guy, dark hair in a tail, goggles perched on his forehead, in Imperial pilot fatigues...

Must have been seeing things.

Looked like the chair actually belonged to Captain Cassian Andor. His name was amongst the first wave of people evacuated from Yavin IV once preparations were complete; refugees, civilians, families and injured first. They were the last to show up for their transport from that last criterion; most of the others had come straight from the hospital wing, on stretchers or walking wounded. I say 'they'; he wasn't alone. He was on crutches, swinging himself forward with a wince that he was failing to conceal. The thick white glove I thought I saw turned out to be a cast as the woman stepped forward to be ticked off the flight log: Sergeant Jyn Erso. I just waved them on to the ship hurriedly, embarrassed. It was his coat, the fur-trimmed hood... I'd recognised it. That, and the glare that she fixed the captain with when he moved forward again. It looked like it hurt; he winced as he used the crutches to keep off his leg that was casted up. Unlike my friend however, her expression didn't seem to scare him in the least.

I watched them go. It was odd; they both had backpacks but hers so obviously contained almost nothing. She must have been carrying only the clothes on her back - standard issue sergeants' fatigues - and maybe a spare set in her bag. On the flip side, his bag, which she seemed to insist on carrying and he kept telling her no, was far the heavier. Maybe it was actually her bag then, but I doubt it somehow. His bag, like his coat, wasn't standard Alliance issue. I guessed the coat was Corellian, but I wondered where he got the bag from; there were pockets for all kinds of things.

I hadn't seen much, y'know, combat. I just work in the hangar, releasing the ships, assigning landing pads, overseeing repairs and stuff. My point is that... I'd never been injured, or really... I didn't know what it was like to fight. It wasn't part of what I did. There'd been plenty of people that I'd seen off that didn't come back, but that's what I'm getting at: I didn't see people when they were injured from the fight. It was... sobering, seeing them. Neither of them were walking right, you could see the surgical scars on the back of his head, her arm... I'd see worse, but... I don't know. The others who'd been brought through, they... they were beat to hell, but they were all in the same patients robes, a droid was carrying their personal effects, so you couldn't tell them apart other than which bits of them were missing. These two, with the coat and the empty bag... they stood out anyway.

"That's them," my colleague told me after, nudging me.

"That's who?" I asked.

Rightly, he looked at me like I was an idiot. "The heroes of Scarif, Rogue One."

Huh. So that was them. Not what I imagined somehow, though I can't say I know what I had imagined them to look like. The crutches threw me, I guess, and his hair was razor-short, it didn't suit him. And as for her... the woman looked tiny. I could see it though; for all her lack in height she looked unbreakable, and her glare could break anyone, apart from him evidently. Kind of woman who you'd be smart enough to try and chat up in a bar, and then she'd beat the Force out of you and steal your wallet... not that that's ever happened to me...

I think I saw them a few times over the years, at the numerous bases the Alliance fleet retreated to; at first I saw him walking with a stick, then later limping along at decent pace, and her fiddling with circuits with grease on her face. The grapevine did like to tingle with stories of them; if you asked anyone of rank, the official story was that Captain Andor and Sergeant Erso were just colleagues, working together in Alliance Intelligence, no fraternising involved at all, stop being nosy and get back to work. But word had it that the sergeant's roommate hardly ever saw her, and that Maintenance ought to sound-proof the walls around the captain's quarters. And of course, I told everyone what I saw outside the Great Massassi Temple, although some didn't believe me because my friend couldn't remember and corroborate my story, said I was so drunk I could have seen Admiral Ackbar and not known the difference.

I don't know. It was something to keep us all entertained, I suppose, like the rumours about Princess Leia and Han Solo. Force, those two could shout. I tell you what though: the best story came from Hoth.

* * *

Last edited: 25/05/2017


	4. Big Sister

TAUNTAUN

* * *

Little woman smell nice. She call me Big Sister. The man with eyes of my fur say to me to protect her. He smell like sun. Always she come to go out into snow, I take her. I protect her.

We out, far from home. Smell wampa... old smell, wampa not here, wampa far away. Little woman safe. She stop me, go to metal rock. Then she come back, and we go home.

Storm come. Cold. Little woman shiver, then still. Where home? Must get home, must protect her. Little woman not safe. Snow thick. Wind strong. Dark. Legs not move. Where home?

The man with eyes of my fur come. Smile at me. Put his hand on my snout. Snout feel nothing, smell sun. Feel cold less. Legs move. He lead us home.

Home. Safe. Warm. Man who smell like her take little woman. She smell like him. Smell nice. Smell home.

Man with eyes of my fur smile. Big man smile. Thin man smile. Old man look like little woman smile. Old woman look like little woman smile. All smell like sun.

Man who smell like little woman come back, give food, smile, put his hand on my snout. Snout feel nice.

"Thank you for bringing her back to me."

* * *

TAUNTAUN KEEPER

* * *

Well, _of course_ the rumours were true. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if those two had been together even before the Battle of Scarif. In any case, if it wasn't true when the Alliance evacuated Yavin IV, it must have at some point over the last three years. Honestly though, some of the nonsense that circulated about them... if all of them were true, they'd have married and eloped several times, broken up both secretly and dramatically, told General Draven he looked like a Hutt, had had a grown daughter long before they could ever have met, let alone procreate, and that they were actually in hiding on a fragment of Alderaan _and_ simultaneously here hunting wampas with lightsabers. I mean... I might as well have read one of those soppy romances my wife liked to read.

I liked her, Jyn Erso. Not an easy woman to befriend, and I certainly can't claim that I had befriended her during our time on Hoth, but there was something about her that commanded admiration. A no-nonsense woman. She'd been assigned to Commander Skywalker's reconnaissance team, maintaining the sensors on the perimeter, so we saw her regularly in the tauntaun keep; the bloody things were always malfunctioning because of the cold. Right from the get-go, one tauntaun in particular warmed to her, nearly created a scene when we were about to send her out with a different lizard. Erso saw, grinned at the creature's stubbornness, and a pair was born. Big Sister, she called her. Daft animal. Haven't the faintest idea why she liked her so much. Mind you, she wasn't the only one. Skywalker had his favourites too, and though Captain Solo said he didn't, yes he did.

Captain Andor was always - _always_ \- waiting for her when she came back. He was more talkative than she was, inquisitive about the tauntauns, the ways the weather changed so extremely and so quickly. For a man who talked more however he was very good at talking about me and not about him. I did find out that he was originally from Fest, though he rather pointedly said nothing more about his home world. I'd been to Fest; I didn't blame him. Much, much warmer planet that this hunk of ice, but I wasn't stupid enough to ask him if he missed it. We traded stories of old war wounds; he laughed when I told him that I'd been shot in the ass, way way back when I was smuggling livestock in for the early Rebel forces, that it still hurt to sit some days. He admitted that his leg, though now healed, had been aching since we'd been on Hoth. I'd noticed his balance favoured his left leg, and every now and then he'd run his fingers through his short hair to the back of his head, where, if your eyesight was sharp, he had an old surgical scar.

For a former spy - if the rumours from my smuggling days were true and I suspected that they were - he was easy to read when it came to her. As he waited his attention was always on the doors, would always snap to alert when they opened, even if it wasn't her. He would pace if she was late, and he would grow increasingly quieter. And when she did get in, his relief was so obvious. If you only watched the pair when they were together, and if you had no more brain cells than the tauntauns, you might have been excused for suspecting nothing; they never displayed any signs of affection, and, after asking her whether she was alright - she always had a variant comment about being a smelly icicle - they talked exclusively business, marching off together to give in her report. I saw them touch each other _once_ : when he nearly slipped on the ice, and she instinctively grabbed his elbow to steady him. That was it.

The Rebel command really should have scrapped the fratenization policy. It wasn't just that we were at war, we were being _hunted_ by the Imperial army. Were friendship, letting off steam, something more special really such a threat? It wasn't like anyone really gave that much of a damn, wasn't like it was stopping many people from fraternising anyway.

Ah, listen me. My wife would tease me if she heard me saying all this, would tell me I sound like someone out of her holonovels. She'd be right. She's always right.

About three weeks after we established Echo Base Sergeant Erso went out with Big Sister to fix a glitching sensor only a few miles out. The weather wasn't the worst - there was only varying levels of awful on Hoth when it came to the snow - and we weren't anticipating any problems. She got to the sensor, fixed the issue - something about the insulation around the battery being shredded by the wind - and confirmed that she was heading back. So far, so good.

Then the wind changed direction, bringing with it a heavy - and I mean heavy for Hoth - snowstorm right in her path. We lost her signal; the comms always went down at the slightest excuse. I thought of alerting Captain Andor but it was like he already knew; he sprinted down to us, not for a moment thinking of hiding how nervous he was. He paced so much he wore a path in the ice. He wanted to go out to search for her, but I refused to open the doors for him - no sense risking his life too - and none of the tauntauns would co-operate anyway.

Then... something odd happened. One of the droids, an ancient PK-series thing, came over with food for the tauntauns. After filling their trough it froze, short-circuited. After a second it rebooted, and turned to the captain. "Cassian."

He froze, then turned slowly, an uncertain frown on his face. I frowned too. That voice pattern wasn't used by that model. The last time I'd heard that voice pattern it was coming from an Imperial security droid, telling me I was under arrest (I ignored it then. Actually, no, that's not accurate... I shot it).

"The chances aren't spent yet."

Then the bot switched off again, stood unmoving. It rebooted again, looked about itself to get its bearings, and then carried on as normal. Before either of us could make of what had just happened the tauntauns all looked to the doors - our most reliable cue that one of them had returned - and, against all the odds, Big Sister stumbled in, crumpling to the floor.

" _Jyn_!" Andor sprinted forward to the fallen tauntaun, which gave a weak grumble, frantically brushed the snow off of Erso's back, tugging her into his arms, pulling off her goggles and scarf. "Call a medic!"

"Cass…" She peered up at him, so frozen stiff she wasn't even trembling. He instantly smiled with relief to hear her voice, then didn't even bother waiting; he just scooped her up and carried her to the medical bay himself as I relayed to them to get the bacta tank ready.

I didn't see Sergeant Erso again, although a couple of days later Captain Andor came back, with treats for Big Sister and a whispered thanks. I found out from him that the sergeant had pneumonia, but was going to be fine. I'm not sure he entirely believed that, he sounded like he was repeating what the doctor had said, but I repeated it back to him anyway.

"Of course she'll be fine," I said. "Strong as kyber, that one."

* * *

Last edited: 28/05/2017


	5. Medical, Intelligence

2-1B SURGICAL DROID

* * *

Patient Code: RO-0405  
Patient name, rank: Jyn Erso, Sergeant.  
Age: 24.  
Species, gender, origin: Human, F, Vallt.  
Next of kin: Cassian Jeron Andor, Captain (TBC).

Medical Notes: Patient admitted following prolonged exposure to sub-zero temperatures and extreme weather conditions: hypothermia. Admitted to bacta tank immediately upon arrival.

Diagnosis: Pneumonia.

Treatment: Intravenous antibiotic and fluids, bed rest, immune-boosters.

Prognosis: Positive, but recommends transfer to EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate _Redemption_ in anticipation of potential evacuation from Hoth. Transfer authorised.

Patient Code: N/A  
Patient name, rank: Cassian Jeron Andor, Captain.  
Age: 29.  
Species, gender, origin: Human, M, Fest.  
Next of kin: Jyn Erso, Sergeant (TBC).

Medical Notes: Patient refused medical admittance, despite showing signs of PTSD and extreme stress. Refuses to leave Medical Bay when requested by staff. On-Duty Doctor instructs to not insist on the patient's eviction.

Prognosis: Unclear. Seat has been permanently assigned to bedside of Patient RO-0405.

* * *

MAJOR, INTELLIGENCE DIVISION

* * *

I remember General Draven made a comment once, and then said no more about it. "Pity about Andor."

Nerf-herder.

I've never been a fan of Draven personally - I don't think you'll find many who are - but... let's be honest here. The man has rarely been wrong. Merciless, definitely. A lot of people don't like him because of the number of people he has sent out to die, the number of people he has ordered die, the number of people that have subsequently died because of the orders. But I have worked with him for a long time, and I couldn't begin to calculate the number of people still alive _because_ someone else wasn't.

That's what I tell myself at night. And I do sleep.

I imagine that Captain Andor was the same as me once. He was one of the best we ever had. He had one of those boyish smiles that would make anyone spill their secrets, not just for the most obvious reason. Give the man a target, no matter the distance, and he'd take it out with a fuss. And when he had to be, when he needed to be he was just as merciless as Draven, for precisely the same reason. For the cause. We were all the same on that score. We slept at night because in the morning, we would have needed the rest to carry on with the mission.

But there's a reason why I carried on from a desk. I suspect that Captain Andor found that same reason. I don't have that reason any more. I'd be damned before I ever pitied Andor for still having his.

Maybe it would have turned out this way regardless. I doubt it though; Andor was the type to give the last of his blood for as long as his heart was pumping it, would have considered his life wasted if it didn't end that way. But it would be naive to think that his heart pumped as strongly after every mission Draven sent him on over the years. It chips away when you kill someone who didn't deserve to die, even though you know there are plenty more who don't either if the one doesn't. Even before we sent Sergeant Melshi to Wobani, he was already starting to look like... like the Last Mission would have been a relief. So, if anything, I'd say the captain came out better after Scarif, not worse. When he came back, he didn't want the Last Mission anymore. I'd say he's wiser for that. I certainly feel wiser for it.

All her doing, of course. We all heard which moon she suggested Draven should shove the idea of sending Andor back out into the field, way back on Yavin IV, and it was hardly a celestial one. Absolute folly anyway; the man couldn't run, not on that leg, let alone walk for the first few months. He still unconsciously limped on it sometimes, stood with his weight on his other leg. So it was suggested early on that Captain Andor be moved to Intelligence Logistics, working under my supervision.

I definitely didn't complain, needed some eye candy for a change. More importantly however he had _brains_. He'd spent more than enough time behind enemy lines pretending to be one of them that he'd learnt better than any of us how the Imperial Army ultimately worked. He knew that it was of absolute importance to know the locations of a handful of commanders, top of that list of course was Darth Vader. Wherever those commanders were, or where they were pointing their guns at, you evacuated, you retreated, you fought as hard as you kriffing well could so you could _run_. The hard fact was that these enemies were smart, merciless, and could easily outmatch anything we threw at them. Some odds you don't defy. The rest... ambitious careerists looking for distinction in the eyes of the Emperor. We gave a few of them distinction alright, by defeating them.

Both of us spies, neither of us talked much about our personal lives, and we respected each other enough to not play games to trick the other into divulging. But I suspect he knew more about me than I had told him, just as I knew more about him than he told me. Still, even during a war, a bit of small talk is needed, and we managed that. When he was a little less guarded he would reminisce about K-2SO. He never directly talked about _her_.

I never actually met her, Jyn Erso. It wasn't ever going to be as though he would introduce her. But I still have ears, and common-sense filters.

Tough as durasteel nails. Sharp as a laser. Princess Leia and Commander Skywalker did well to recruit her, against Draven's advice (he never trusted her, always liked to remind everyone where the Alliance had found 'Lianna Hallik' and how luxurious she thought having political opinions were). A childhood with Saw Gerrera and years of shadowy independence had well-equipped her for many things. One was that she was excellent at laying sensor traps, and she had very good ideas of where the Imperial fleet would struggle to find us, and where to avoid like the plague. Between her knowledge of shadier places and Andor's ability to out-strategise the enemy, they maintained every element of the perimeters wherever we went. Their eyes carefully watched the horizon, ensuring it was clear.

"And that it's there," he said quietly once. Maybe it's because I remember, so vividly, the sight of the Death Star appearing in the sky over Yavin IV, that I understood what he meant. He'd seen the horizon disappear not just once but twice thanks to the Empire. The edge of the world was not something to take for granted anymore.

But I won't lie; the point that General Draven was insensitively making was... was accurate. Captain Andor had been compromised.

Jyn Erso was both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. I'm under no illusion that the cause had been trumped by her welfare, that all the exceptional work Andor did, it was for her. You will never hear me complain about that. He never dropped the ball - we're alive because of that - but...

Hoth is the best example. Most of the Intelligence Division was on the first transports, to begin securing a new temporary base on 5251977. I'd stayed behind to supervise and ensure that all of our intel was either on those transports or was destroyed. He, the idiot, assisted Princess Leia's team in evacuating all the other transports. It was only when the _Redemption_ successfully left that he thought to get away himself, that I convinced him to come with me to the hangar to get to the _Dutyfree_.

I've done some... questionable things in my life, but I'd like to still think that I am, all in all, a good person. I would not will evil upon anyone, even the evil. But I did think, for one very angry moment, that I wished I hadn't gone to get him. I did because he was my comrade; between the Battle of Yavin IV and the Battle of Hoth we had worked hard to press every advantage, to minimise our losses, to gain ground, to stay alive. I... well, I didn't owe him anything, any more than he owed me, but like I said; I'm a good person. Good people take care of each other; they drag their sorry asses to safety if they have to.

It was like he glitched when the fleet scattered. I... later I did feel pity for him, though not remotely the pity that Draven had meant. It never quite occurred to me that the three years spent behind the line would be more than enough to let the damage of the past catch up. It also had never really occurred to me before that Erso had become Cassian Andor's _sole_ reason to live, and that without her at his side he was a mess. It did occur to me that I knew precisely what that felt like, but I've had the luxury of time to teach me precisely how dangerous it is to live that way. It occurred to me that I had probably looked worse than this once, that surprisingly I owed gratitude at least to Draven for putting up with me when I was once broken by my own eternal separation, that most likely he once said exactly the same comment about me.

Andor barely ate. He didn't sleep for three days. He showered only because it was helping him stay awake. He couldn't concentrate, no wonder. What little attention he was capable of was focused exclusively on the location and status of the _Redemption_ , where I knew she was in the hospital wing. His complete inability to contribute anything meaningful was not lost on the crew, so I took him to one side, my nerves at their limit - he wasn't the only one who wanted to regroup, to be certain, to be safe - and I was about to chew him out when -

" _Trust the Force_."

What…? It was like a whisper in my mind that found volume from my tongue, a gentle, motherly voice, clear like white crystal.

Still, it worked. He hadn't expected me to say that either. In my own voice, I told him to eat a full meal, and sleep. He did, and when he came back, fourteen hours later, I had my colleague back.

It was because of him that we made it to 5251977 in one piece. We'd nearly been caught by Imperial scouts several times, and it was his calm, quick thinking that got us out, every time. Nevertheless, when we did rejoin the fleet, I didn't object when he requested to be transferred to the _Redemption_ and told Draven that if we had to evacuate again, it wasn't safe for those two to be separated again. He reluctantly agreed. Apparently she'd made life hell for the medical team on the _Redemption_ , but there was no surprise there.

I envied him, Cassian. I knew without ever meeting her that she must have made him happier than anything he'd ever found in the Galaxy, and we had sent him all over it. I doubt they'd been apart this long since the day they had met. They'd fought together. Nearly died together. They had sat at the other's side through injury and sickness. I remember Draven always questioning why-the-Force Jyn Erso stayed with the Rebellion, this stray spark that had never cared about the cause before Eadu. Seeing Captain Andor so anxious to get back to her, I never needed to meet her to know the answer.

After all that, how could I, or anyone, stand in the way?

* * *

Last edited: 28/05/2017


	6. Sentry

ALLIANCE SENTRY

* * *

Off the record, okay…

I was on duty, assigned to Senator Mon Mothma's security detail. She had scheduled a meeting with the heads of the council. I stood sentry by the doors.

... I'm really not meant to say what was said during the… alright, alright…

They had Captain Andor summoned in. They were all stood round the briefing table, except General Draven, who was slouched in a seat, and he pointed towards the only chair, facing the Senator. The captain gave the chair this weird look, before pointedly picking it up, moving it a few meaningless inches, and then sat down, arms crossed over his chest. I could understand why he was annoyed then; everyone else was standing, looking down at him; General Draven was so tall he'd hardly be called level.

After a deliberate silence, Captain Andor shrugged with faux-nonchalance. "How can I help, Councillors?"

I watched them all shuffle about nervously, wrong-footed, and they all focused towards the General, who leant forward in his seat.

"We have a mission for you."

Silence again. We all looked to the Captain. The man didn't seem to register any of them; he just kept his eyes fixed on the General's, said absolutely nothing, quietly defiant. _Pointedly not accepting_. It made me think a little of my comrades playing high-stakes sabacc, but it was never this tense; they were playing for smokes after all.

Draven sighed, conceding ground when the Captain didn't move, and tossed a pad across the table to him, who caught it deftly before it fell off the table.

"We have received word from the Bothan network," Mon Mothma took over, silencing Draven with a pointed look, commanding everyone's attention with her gentle voice. "They have communicated that they have intercepted intelligence that the Empire is constructing a second Death Star."

I saw the colour drain from Captain Andor's face, his jaw slack with horror. His arms loosened and then fell into his lap, and he took a deep breath. Across the table, the general frowned, concerned. I thought he was going to have a panic attack or something. In this war, I've seen many a soldier lose their nerve. I can't say I'd have blamed him if he was about to breakdown; my stomach was sinking too from overhearing. I was thinking of Alderaan, of the thousands out of billions who had been made refugees in the blink of an eye.

At the end of the breath however the Captain had himself again, his back straighter at attention. "I'm listening."

Mon Mothma gave a subtle nod of appreciation, and continued. "Naturally, we must find out everything we can about this second Death Star. Where it is being constructed, and how close it is to completion. We believe that by now the Emperor will have found the fault in the original station that Galen Erso planted, and that the enemy will have compensated for it. Thus it is vital to discover if there is another way to disable this weapon again."

She pointedly looked about the councillors in the room, ensuring they didn't say aloud what I'm sure we were all thinking; _it was difficult enough the first time_.

"It is our understanding that the Bothans have this information, but it is too dangerous to attempt to send this information over the comm waves. The Empire must not find out that we have such knowledge, or learn our location by tracking the data. Someone…" And she paused for a moment. Captain Andor's jaw tightened; he understood. "… must retrieve the information in person, and return it to the Alliance safely."

I watched the Captain, we all did. His next reaction was key… he frowned, sensing a catch. "Do we know where the pick-up is?"

Admiral Ackbar cleared his throat. "They're tied down in their base, in the Imperial City."

Oh Force… the captain's face said it all. The Lion's Den... He looked at the Admiral with an almost begging hope that he would correct him, that we all hadn't heard it. "In Coruscant?"

The entire council reacted in their own way. Draven looked like he was trying to be stoic. Ackbar look apologetic. Mon Mothma looked almost ashamed. I… Well, how I looked isn't important, but…

I knew who he was. It had been over three years since the Battle of Scarif, _of course_ I knew who this man was. His name, and that of his partner's, were right up there with Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo: _heroes_. I had kids. I told my kids stories of how Rogue One - this motley crew of a spy, a smuggler, an Imperial defector, a mercenary and a blind monk that only the Force could have thrown together - selflessly gave up their lives on those beaches so that Captain Andor and Sergeant Erso of the Rebellion could submit the plans of the Death Star to the fleet, that only the will of the Force could have saved them. I told my daughter, my son that this man was a hero, who'd stared death in the face repeatedly, and survived. I told them that we were alive because of his actions, because of Jyn Erso's actions. What in Force's name were they doing sending him on another suicide mission?

"I'm sorry…" We were all pulled away from our own thoughts, surprised at the words spilling from the Senator's lips. "We owe you an un-payable debt. But right now anyone else we would ask are all on operations for Princess Leia." She paused, considered her next words carefully. "I understand that this is an enormous undertaking, that it has been some time since you were last in the field, for good reason. That this might be impossible, in any case. If you believe - and belief is _key_ \- that you would not be successful, there is no shame in admitting that. Indeed, it might cost us more to try and fail than not try at all. A case of 'do, or do not'."

I watched the effect that had on the captain. He nodded slightly to himself, deep in thought. I could almost read the question he was asking himself: could he pull it off?

"Have you been to Coruscant before, Captain?" Admiral Ackbar asked him.

Intriguingly the Captain glared instantly at General Draven, who avoided meeting his eye. Then Captain Andor gave the Admiral a nod. "Once." From the effort that Draven was making to remain stoic, I guessed there was quite a story to that one time. The Captain sighed, resigned, and then directed the next at the General. "I'd need a ship, clothing, weapons, credits, scan-docs."

The General met the Captain's eyes finally, for a moment humbly even, and nodded. "Crew?" He asked.

"Hmm…" The captain gave no more of an answer to that question, lowered his head, I presume because he needed to think more for one. Instead he asked his own question. "The Bothan network... when did they make contact?"

"Less than an hour ago," the General told him.

Andor nodded. Finally, he looked up, looked over their faces. Saw apprehension. Hope. And, clever man that he was, an advantage.

"I can do it."

And he told them his plan. He would need an pilot to get them to Corellia; from there they would smuggle into the well-established trade routes into Coruscant. There was a bar where he knew that some of the black market traders would meet; the officials were well bribed to keep their noses out as long as the peace was kept. The Bothans would need to make contact there. Then they'd return to Corellia where the pilot would pick them up and bring them to the Alliance.

He then took a deep breath, and fixed Mon Mothma with a hard stare. "And if I do it?"

I'm sure I saw her brow crease for a split second, not in confusion but in recognition. General Draven narrowed his eyes at his subordinate. "What do you mean?"

"There's more than one sort of prison," the Captain said quietly, so quietly I'm not sure they heard him. But I did. "I carry mine wherever I go…" Then he squared his shoulders. I frowned. I swear I could just sense it coming… the master stroke...

"I'm going to ask Jyn to marry me," he stated, fixing a daring glare at the General. "If she'll have me… when I return, I want to be able to go when we want to, start a life that doesn't involve dying on sands far from home. You say that belief is key? I need to believe that there's something worth surviving for, not just fighting for, or killing for, or dying for.

"So… if I do it?" And he returned his stare to Mon Mothma.

The room waited. The General scoffed, his distaste for the conversation made clear, but made no further objection. Andor ignored him, didn't care for his opinion. Ackbar blinked his big eyes sagely, gave the barest of nods.

The corners of the senator's mouth twitched upward. "We'll make sure you go free."

I know it's not important, but I'm glad I was standing in the shadows, because I couldn't help but grin. The captain smiled for the first time in that meeting, transforming his hardened face, and then he stood, ready to go. "General, please have a pilot and U-wing ready in two hours."

He bowed his head respectfully to the room, turned and headed to the door.

"Captain Andor…"

He stopped, turned back. Admiral Ackbar smiled back at him. "May the Force be with you."

"Good luck," Mon Mothma added with the slightest of smiles. I don't think she was referring to the mission. She then fixed me with a gentle look. "Please assist the captain with his preparations. Please get him whatever he needs."

Once we were out of the meeting the captain turned to me, already moving. "We need to go to the Armoury first."

I'd thought at first that we went there so he could grab whichever weapons he needed. I suppose that's still true in its way. He opened the door, put out a hand to stop me from going in straight away. "Jyn?"

"All clear!"

He went in with a grin, went straight to the petite woman in engineering overalls sitting at a workbench at the far end of the room. Jyn Erso looked up through her protective goggles as he approached with a smile, reached up to meet his kiss. Her brow twitched when she saw me standing behind the captain, then gave a brief shrug and tugged him back down again for another. With another smile, she then returned to the rifle on the bench in front of her, assembling the parts together. "What are you working on?" He asked her, watching her work over her shoulder, his hand at her neck, thumb rubbing out tension. "Not trying to blow us all up again, are you?"

"Ha ha." She grunted as she slotted the frame together. "One of the corporals shot himself in the foot because he thought there was something wrong with the trigger, firing was delayed. Moron. The trigger's fine, it was a fault in the wiring. Should be…" and she slotted the last bit in, switched it on and stood up, heading towards a firing range a few feet away. "… alright now."

She fired a test shot. The answering bolt out of the rifle was immediate and precise, putting a proud grin on her face. "Ah, better." She then powered down the rifle, stuck it on to charge in its dock on the wall and went back to Andor's side, pulling off her goggles and gloves to toss them on to the bench. "Meeting alright?"

I wisely backed away to give them some space to talk, keeping careful watch near the door. Captain Andor sent a grateful smile over his shoulder to me, and sat down solemnly in her vacant chair, reaching out for her hand. She sighed, realising difficult news was coming, and leant against the bench, threading her fingers through his familiarly.

"Have you heard of the Bothan Network?" He asked her quietly.

She nodded. "They're a group of spies, aren't they? Saw said they were the best."

He nodded in return. "They've received intelligence that…" He squeezed her fingers. "… the Empire's building another Death Star."

I've seen corpses move more than she did in that moment, she froze tighter than the ice on Hoth. She finally remembered to breathe, almost gasping in air.

"They're sending me out to get their intelligence," Andor continued lowly. "Where it's being constructed, how far it is from completion, how we can stop it again."

She nodded a few times, swallowing hard. Her face had reddened. I really couldn't tell you whether it was out of fury, or because she was about to cry, or both. I remembered that it was her father that had been forced to work on the Death Star, had designed the flaw in the otherwise impregnable weapon. This was deeply personal. When she finally spoke it was with a croaky but angry start. "Where… where are they sending you?"

He hesitated. "Coruscant."

The blood drained instantly from her face, unblinking at him. "I'm coming with you." He said nothing, prompting her to raise a defiant finger in his face. "Don't even think of arguing with me. I'm coming with you."

He smiled reluctantly. "Okay."

She looked surprised at his easy surrender to her. "Did… did you want me to -"

"No," he interrupted, knowing what she was asking. Then he flinched at himself. "Yes. No and yes. I'd rather you were somewhere safe, but until -"

"- Until this is over nowhere's safe." She finished for him. He nodded sadly. She stepped in towards him so they were knee-to-knee and he lifted his other hand to her waist, she resting her own on his arm, stroking it with her thumb like he was with her neck earlier.

"Do you know a way in? To Coruscant? I was thinking of smuggling in via the trade routes from Corellia, but the way I used in before was... compromised, I had to burn it," he admitted, his voice heavy with regret. I tried not to think too much about what that meant. I guessed that Sergeant Erso understood perfectly however, but didn't judge him for a second.

After a moment of sympathy, she thought, and then pulled an uncertain face. "Possibly. Depends on if she's still alive. If she is, then she'll be there, no issue. Otherwise… I can probably find some of her friends, strike some kind of deal."

"Alright," he accepted. Then he frowned up at her. "Sure about this?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, as much as I don't mind fixing blasters…" she started to joke, making him grin. Then she turned serious, lifting her hand to tuck his hair back around his forehead. "We're a team; you're not leaving me behind now."

They reached for each other simultaneously, their arms enveloping the other with ease despite the awkward angle from the chair. After a while I heard her whisper into his ear, the sound carrying anyway in the empty armoury. "How long have we got until we ship out?"

"Couple of hours." Andor pulled back from her arms, took her hands in his. "Come on, it's a long way to Coruscant, it'll be a while until we can get a shower, and we need to pack."

After they picked their weapons - a baton and sporting blaster for her, and his own customised A280-CFE… look, I'm not going to speculate what they did in his quarters, but we never bothered going to her locker. All I can tell you is that they came out hand-in-hand with their bags packed, hair still damp, ready to go.

General Draven was waiting for them at the hangar. I'm pretty sure Sergeant Erso was about to march straight past him until he asked her to wait. Even Captain Andor raised a sardonic eyebrow. But then the general held out a hand to her. "May the Force be with you."

After a shocked moment, she returned the gesture, shook his hand, watched as the General turned to Andor, did exactly the same, and let them go on without another word.

That night, when I tucked my children in bed and they begged me for a story, I told them again about the adventures of Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor, and told them they would live happily ever after.

Force, may that not have been entirely fiction.


	7. KX Series

Author's Note: 500 hits! :-D Many thanks to all those who've been sticking with this.

* * *

 _ **May the Force of others be with you. May the Force of others be with you. May the Force of others be with you.**_

* * *

KX-SERIES SECURITY DROID

* * *

I don't know what I kept doing wrong.

The moment my passengers laid eyes on me - bizarre Basic expression - they looked instantly shocked. The Captain even more than the Sergeant, who looked at him with the greatest sympathy.

"I'm K-9RO." Perhaps the shock was my appearance? "I'm a re-programmed Imperial droid." No effect. Were they unsure why I was there maybe? "General Draven has directed me to transport you to Corellia."

That did seem to have some effect; they boarded the U-wing at least. The Sergeant looked around us, frowning. "Is it just you?" She questioned.

"I was not advised that there would be any other crew," I replied. "Are you waiting for someone?"

"No," came the blunt answer from the Captain. "Let's get going."

"Yes, sir." And I went and settled in the co-pilot's seat, preparing the ship for take-off. The two shared another look - again, odd expression - as though this was not the response they had expected. I paused. "Captain, if you would prefer another pilot be assigned, I can -"

"No, it's fine," the Sergeant interrupted, and she started stowing away her bags. The Captain said nothing, took the pilot's seat, ignoring me. She came and stood at his shoulder, her eyes constantly flicking towards him in concern. "We weren't expecting… I didn't think the Alliance had any other KXs."

"I was confiscated by Rebel forces from Sullust and reprogrammed 71 days ago," I told her.

"Who by?"

I paused, searching. "Lieutenant Bax May. He was killed in action shortly after my re-programming."

That got the Captain's attention. He peered over at me, his expression unreadable. I suspect a protocol droid would have struggled also to interpret the look he gave me. "I'm sorry," he finally murmured. I gave no response; the receipt of his apology served no function to me, but I understood that it was important to him to offer it.

The Captain looked over his shoulder with a weak smile to the Sergeant. "Ready?"

She nodded, and went back to strap herself in. I closed the doors, fired up the engines, awaited clearance from Hangar Control.

Once we left, and were at lightspeed, the Sergeant came back to the front, put her hand on the Captain's shoulder and addressed me. "So, ground rules okay?" I waited, listening. There was a pause, again another look between them. Was I supposed to say something? "Right… 1) No chokeholds, no... picking me up and slamming me down to the floor." The Captain chuckled briefly. "2) Unless requested, no telling us the probability or odds of something."

Strange ground rules. "Yes, ma'am."

After another overly long pause, she turned to the Captain with a sympathetic smile. "Looks like Lieutenant May worked his way round the byproduct."

I'm still trying to figure out what she meant by that. What byproduct? In any case, the Captain gave her another weak smile, and then got up from his seat. "You have controls," he told me quietly. Once they were at the back of the ship I overheard him speak to her. "I'm fine. It… it's just strange, seeing him again. Even though... well, it's _really not_ him."

"I know," she told him. "For me too."

I heard the creak of the bench as they sat down together, the rustle of clothing shifting. I looked over my shoulder quickly to determine their status; they were sitting side-by-side, each with an arm around the other; satisfied that they were comfortable, I returned 84.3% of my attention to the controls. 6.7% continued to listen to their conversation.

"Tell me about your contact," he said gently.

"Her name's Kyi Ban, she was a friend of Saw's. I worked with her once, ten years ago, before… before Saw left." She cleared her throat, continued. "Saw asked her to smuggle in heavy repeating blasters to a splinter group operating in the Core Worlds. Normally she smuggled people -" The Captain gave a displeased grunt. "- I know, I thought that too. Except the ships she sent _in_ were empty. They came _out_ full. She was smuggling people out of the Imperial core; defectors, Alliance sympathisers, anyone at risk. In the Core they had the money to pay… she helped us escape, my parents and I."

There was pause. "I hope she's still there then," the Captain said.

"Me too. Might take a little while to find her, she probably won't be working out of the same place, but if she's survived all these years she'll be there on Corellia. We might need to pay her…" Then she gave a short laugh. "We could sell her K-9RO."

I was 61.2% certain that she was only joking, but I might have been overly optimistic in my calculations. The Captain laughed too, increasing the probability to 77.9%. "K-2 would have been appalled."

After that they had 13.4% of my attention.

When we landed in Coronet City the Captain and Sergeant disembarked with instructions for me to stay put and to not be seen. 3 hours, 27 minutes later the Sergeant radioed in to say they had found Kyi Ban, and instructed me to bring the ship to the smuggler's hangar. I had to recalculate: 49.8% probability. I thought aloud, as I plotted in the hangar's co-ordinates, as long as they didn't turn me to scrap. That would be unfortunate.

The Captain and the Sergeant left Corellia on Kyi Ban's own ship, the hull bearing Coruscant registration numbers. The purple-skinned Twi'lek treated both humans with a maternal manner. Before they left, the Sergeant thrust out a blaster pistol at me. "Just in case," she told me, with a nostalgic smile. "Don't... just make sure everything's alright for when we get back. Take care of yourself."

I was busy calculating the odds that the smugglers would betray us when Kyi Ban suddenly turned to her ground crew and started barking orders in Twi'leki. " _Make sure Jyn's ship is re-fuelled and restocked ready for their return! No one is to touch it otherwise, or they'll answer to_ me _!_ "

Low, I estimated then. Sure enough, the U-wing is more than ready to leave at a moment's notice when Captain Andor and Sergeant Erso return. I don't know what it is that they're doing on Coruscant, neither they nor the General said - it is not necessary for me to know, I surmise - which has halted me from calculating the odds of their return. It is the Imperial City after all.

They've been gone for 37 hours now. It's very boring without them.

I analysed their military records, to pass the time when I'd run out of things to clean. I'd downloaded them when the General had given me my instructions. Sergeant's Erso's was relatively brief, and started with considerable detail regarding the events leading to her commission, and then were sparse after. Out of curiosity I calculated what the odds had been that she and the Captain had survived the Battle of Scarif, and was perplexed when I calculated that they were zero. I must have made a mistake somewhere. After the Battle of Yavin IV, during which she was still listed as an out-patient with a self-inflicted broken wrist, she had advised the council on safe locations for the Rebel fleet to retreat to, some of which the fleet had indeed used, and maintained the perimeter sensors. After she was hospitalised with pneumonia on Hoth, she had been transferred to weapons maintenance; her doctor's notes said she had been restless, and had been fixing broken surgical equipment with varying degrees of success. There were other notes referencing an attached report by Captain Andor, compiled prior to her extraction from Wobani, but the report had been redacted at his own instruction, and approved with the senate seal. Odd.

When I turned to Captain Andor's files I was disappointed to calculate how little time it would take to analyse them, as 86% of it had been redacted and was under seal. What little was left said was that he was part of the Intelligence wing under General Draven, and then there were some notes concerning potential disciplinary action for fraternising that were never followed up on, also under the instruction of Senator Mon Mothma.

I've no idea why it wasn't, it was so blatantly obvious that Captain Andor was fraternising with another officer below his rank.

It all clicked together when I was reading what was not redacted from the Captain's list of known affiliations. Amongst the list of names, there was a droid serial number: K-2SO, an Imperial KX-series security droid that the captain had successfully reprogrammed himself, and worked alongside for nearly three years. In the report the captain filed, he noted that ' _an unexpected byproduct of the reprogramming is an unconventional sense of humour, and his protocols for strategic analysis now have greater priority over the Second Law, leading him to be able to use his own initiative if he calculates there is a risk to the First Law, and a general disdain for instructions. I recommend that K-2SO not be assigned to anyone of a sensitive disposition.'_

If I had been human, I would have felt insulted. Was the reason why the Captain and Sergeant were uncomfortable around me because I wasn't funny and because I did what I was told?

I wished that I did know what they were doing. Then I'd have been able to calculate how long they were going to be. In the meantime, I tried to think of some jokes.

Error.

* * *

Author's Note: the Laws mentioned in Captain Andor's report are a reference to the Laws of Robotics that were coined in the great science fiction writer Isaac Asimov's extensive universe involving robotics and galactic empire. I would greatly recommend reading his works if you are unfamiliar with him; start with _I, Robot_ , and then, if you find you're a fan, move on to _Foundation._

 _The Three Laws of Robotics:_

 _1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.  
2) A robot must obey any order given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.  
3) A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws._


	8. Bartender

Author's note: Over 200 readers! An unexpected note however: for some reason I've got more people reading Chapter 7 (KX Series) than Chapter 6 (Sentry). Strictly speaking the whole thing can be feasibly read as a collection of standalones, but I did have fun writing Sentry, so please go back and read it if you missed it!

Also... reviews are love. Please send me some love ;-)

* * *

BARTENDER

* * *

Something was wrong. I could _feel_ it.

The bar was busy that night. A squad of Stormtroopers, all off-duty and out of uniform but obvious from the way they clustered, the way they walked in. Men who are used to the anonymity of their armour, sometimes even when they take it off they take the power that anonymity gives with them. When they came into the bar, it was like a coin was tossed; one side they'd order a round of drinks, the other they'd start raiding the place. In this instance however we were lucky; we were not their first stop, and they were well lubricated already. They nearly picked a fight with a couple of Rodians, because they were sitting in the booth they wanted to sit in, but then they spotted _her_.

Every now and then, I see a couple so shiny that they instantly make the whole bar jealous. Jealous of the man for the woman on his arm, or jealous of the woman for being held by the man. Some patrons, they'll be jealous of both. They were one such couple.

Human, the man tall with slicked-back hair that was the fashion of the Core Worlds, she in a dress and lipstick that she wasn't used to wearing. I'm quite willing to bet that they weren't Imperial traders, for all the balanced stubble, the long curls and silk shirt and dress. I'm also pretty sure that they were spies, but to put a bet on that would blow their covers, so I'll be keeping that to myself. They weren't traders though; the shadows around their eyes spoke of war, not economy. The way they picked seats that gave each of them a view of the entrances and exits indicated training. And the discomfort they both felt at having drawn the eyes of the drunk troopers wasn't entirely to do with the fact that she was, far and away, the prettiest sight in the bar.

The man turned his back to the troopers, wrapped his arm round the woman protectively and politely got my attention. Then he ordered a Bountiful Crumtok, saying the words just fast enough that it was possible to distinguish the codeword in the middle, between bounty and tok. My bet would have been right; I'd been waiting for them.

I gave a nod, told him that the rum was all gone, and he amended the order with faux-disappointment to two Shili beers. I checked the bar: the troopers had grown bored already, disgruntled that the only attractive human woman in the bar was so obviously taken and not interested in competition, and were downing their drinks in order to move on elsewhere. The Rodians had resumed business with a Devaronian. An Ithorian smoked a pipe in a booth, to the displeasure of the human pilots sitting in the next one who didn't like the smell. Everyone else was more or less minding their business, and no one was waiting for a top up.

I went out back to give the signal: a comms wave to Sahket's restaurant. I then went back inside, gave the human spy a quick nod. The Bothans would be on their way.

In the time it took for their contact to arrive, I'd worked out the one thing they weren't pretending; the 'they' bit. The way he held her, his arm sitting comfortably around her shoulders. The way she was pressed against his side, leaning her temple against his chin when she wasn't looking up at him. The easy way they kissed each other. Most agents pretending to be a couple, they never quite look right. They always look like they're still figuring out where they can touch each other, where their bodies fit. Practice makes perfect, and these two had been practicing for _years_. In fact, the only thing they seemed to be out of practice with were their _names_. There was that faint pause before he called her Liana, before she called him Joreth.

They were nearly at the end of their beers, at that point where they'd have to decide whether or not to have another round. It was taking too long, the contact should have been there by now. I went out back again, checking my comms link was working properly, and I jumped at a knock at the back door. I pulled the spy hole back to check, and swore under my breath. My night had just got a bit longer; I'd need to hose down the alley later.

The contact - unmistakably Bothan, despite the head scarf he was wearing to hid his face, which was black with blood - gave a series of growls. _'Are they here? Is it clear?'_ I nodded, was about to open the door to let him in. He growled again. _'No, don't, it's safer this way.'_ He extricated a data disk from his robes, passed it under the door. I bent down to pick it up, listening carefully to the Bothan. _'Give this to them. It has everything they need… Sakhet is out of nerf nuggets.'_

I nearly dropped the data disk. I knew that code phrase. Oh Force... I turned back to the spy hole, but he was gone. Kriff. There was no time to lose anyway.

I went back, trying to figure out how to pass on the disk to the Fulcrum agent. Looked like he was already a step ahead of me. "Hey, is it alright to order some food?"

I shook my head, relieved at the opening, heavy with the news I was about to convey. "Sorry, Sakhet's out of nerf nuggets."

He hesitated only briefly. Good, it meant I was definitely right about who he was, if he knew what that meant as well. "Oh... that's a shame, no worries." And he turned back to his partner, his grip on her just that little bit tighter, whispered in her ear carefully. I saw her subtle reaction, the moment she forgot to blink at the news, and then she took a final sip of her Shili beer. I spotted my chance. I reached out, knocked the bottle over, started moping it up with bar tissues. Slid the data disk into the napkins I passed to her from where the beer had spilt on her dress. The 'accident' with the drink gave them a good excuse to leave after that, to deal with the spill.

Force, I hoped so hard that they got out alright. _Sakhet's out of nerf nuggets… the network has been neutralised._

The Stormtroopers were busy that night. In the morning, I found out that the restaurant the Bothan network ran out of in Coruscant had been torched. I went past; I caught a glimpse of a skeleton that was still alight, and nearly lost my breakfast in an alley round the corner. The Bothan who came to my door had decided that if he was going to die that night he would take out the garrison with him; the reason he didn't come in to the bar was that he had a bomb strapped under his robes. I also found out that, in a different section of the city, closer to the spaceport, a squad of stormtroopers were set upon.

Years later, I would find out that the data disk that had passed through my hands had been vetted and approved by the Emperor himself, the makings of a trap. It's never sat right, knowing that, even though it lead to his demise. Before, I regarded the Bothans as heroes, who died to get the intel that lead to the end of the Empire out of the lion's den. Another thing that makes me spit at the emperor's memory; he could leech out honour even from the dead.

* * *

STORMTROOPER 1

* * *

I only asked to see some scan-docs…

* * *

STORMTROOPER 2

* * *

He said something about his gloves… but he wasn't wearing any…

* * *

STORMTROOPER 3

* * *

I think I heard a baton click open…

* * *

STORMTROOPER 4

* * *

Kriffing rebel scum shot me right in the eye…

* * *

STORMTROOPER 5

* * *

She moved so fast…

* * *

STORMTROOPER 6

* * *

He never missed…

* * *

STORMTROOPER 7

* * *

I never saw it coming…

* * *

STORMTROOPER 8

* * *

She even threw back my grenade…

* * *

STORMTROOPER 9

* * *

They took out our squad in less than ten seconds…

* * *

STORMTROOPER 10

* * *

They shouldn't have stood a chance…

* * *

STORMTROOPER 11

* * *

Never hit them once…

* * *

STORMTROOPER 12

* * *

She asked me if my foot was alright…


	9. Father

FATHER

* * *

My beloved Stardust… I'm more proud of you than any language in the Galaxy can describe.

I _shouldn't_ wish that my last words were not that I had so much to tell you, given that I never had the chance to tell you anything. I should have said what I was going to say immediately after that; that I loved you, that I had always loved you, my darling girl, and that I always would. I _shouldn't_ wish this, even though I do, because I had my wish - _that you live_ \- granted. We all did, these extraordinary friends of yours, who watch over you with me. Your mother was, and still is, right; _trust the Force_.

I hope that, somewhere deep inside your heart, you know that I am here at your side. We have always been here, whenever you might have needed us. And there, then on that tiny ship, streaking through hyperspace away from Corellia, I was with you to offer the guidance that you'd need, and for my own privilege.

Look at how you have grown, so strong. I always wondered what kind of life you would have lead if we had never been parted, and for all the pain and suffering you have endured through your life, it pains me to admit that maybe… maybe this was the best for you. It brought you to _him_.

He's a good man, Jyn. Your Cassian. You should see how he frets when you're not there, when he fears that you're not safe. When he holds you in his arms, I see the smile that you miss, your head tucked under it. The life that he dreams of for you is exactly what I would have wanted too. I know that it has not always been easy, that the beginning was fraught, that for years you have had to hide affection behind closed doors and admit nothing to everyone around you.

I am glad that you forgave him. You were right to; he would never have hurt you like that, by killing me on that platform. But you should know, and I'm sure that you _do_ know, that you were not the only reason he didn't take the shot; someone came once for his family, and they _did_ pull the trigger. It will be a long time until he forgives himself for many other fates that he has sealed in his life, but… it will be a long time until I forgive myself too.

But this is something I knew before the end, and I know it even better now: light and dark sit upon a spectrum. Both pure light and pure darkness are blinding, and are impossible states; one is defined by the absence of the other. Thus an Imperial pilot can defect, and pick new allegiances. A Rebel Captain can end lives in order to fight for the liberty of countless more. And an Imperial Science Officer can ensure the destruction of his own horrific creation.

Which was why I was there, just in case.

The worst for this mission was over, for now. The Bothans, at great sacrifice, had managed to pass on the data disk to Jyn and Cassian, and they had slipped through the seedier alleys of Coruscant, a place that I briefly called a home (albeit a more glamorous district), shedding the aliases of Joreth Sward and Liana Hallik. Their luck was briefly challenged by a squad of Stormtroopers doing routine harassing inspections in the street, and I got to see how fast my incredible daughter could be, how powerful she could be with nothing more than a baton, and how precise Cassian's aim was. They then returned to Kyi Ban's ship, streamed back to Corellia to a droid with jokes worse than those usually found on children's candy. They were now at lightspeed, streaking through the Galaxy back to Sullust to rejoin the Alliance fleet. Cassian turned to Jyn, held out his hand for the data disk they had travelled so far and treaded the last few days so carefully for. She handed it to him without hesitation, knowing what he intended to do. He inserted it into one of the ports on the console, and they both learnt their lessons of the past, and read _everything_ , lest their journey become more complicated.

It was as I feared; the Empire had found my weakness, and had addressed it with millions of heat-dispersion tubes, each only millimetres wide. This time around anyway there might not be a fledgling Jedi to fire the crucial shot; that is not the path that we keep watch over. I studied the hologram of the new weapon as Cassian told Jyn what little he knew of the strange little world of Endor, from which a deflector shield was protecting the construction. He doubted that anyone from the Rebellion had ever been there, having no cause to. It wouldn't surprise me; I don't think I'd even heard of it before.

"A pilot I knew told me it was a planet full of walking teddy bears, but he also told me he once seduced a stormtrooper, and that he'd done the Kessel Run in thirteen parsecs, so…" he told her with a disbelieving shrug.

I smiled at the two laughing over the notion in particular, and studied the hologram carefully. It could be done, I thought, looking at the schematics. The station wasn't completed, the full super-structure still being assembled. The Empire had decided to prioritise the dish, where the laser would fire; there was a chance it would be operational and ready for testing before the rest of the station was finished, able to fire even though the station couldn't move. Under my supervision, I had made sure that the weapon itself was the last to be installed, to make time as much my ally as I could. It appeared the Imperial engineers in charge of this Death Star had chosen to reclaim that ally. Whilst it created an advantage for the Empire, it also opened one up for the Rebellion. In its current, unfinished and vulnerable state, a ship could fly into the interior, all the way to the centre. With enough explosive power, the hypermatter reactor could collapse on itself, ignite and destroy the entire station. A suicide mission, but of absolute necessity.

"Teddy bears or not, they'd still need to take down the shield, and in order to do that they'd have to get _into_ the shield," Jyn said warily. "They'd need an Imperial ship for that, and the codes for entry."

"Hmm," Cassian agreed. "I wonder what kind of fleet the Imperial Army would have there, to defend it. They'd need to do some reconnaissance, see what kind of movement there... wait…"

We all saw the most important part of all simultaneously. "What…?" Cassian breathed out, shocked. Jyn let out an amazed gasp.

I frowned… something... something was wrong…

"The Emperor will be there," the droid stated flatly, as if this was of no more importance than announcing the time. In fact, I'm sure the droid mustered more enthusiasm when it relayed that it had cleaned during their absence.

Cassian looked up at Jyn, trying to contain his excitement. "Do you know what this might mean…?"

She nodded, her eyes on his, and grasped his hand. "It could all be over…"

 _ **All is as the Force wills it…**_

They were right. I told myself not to worry, even though I was sure it was a trap. The whole time that I worked for the Empire I never knew where the Emperor was, and though Krennic liked to boast that he had the Emperor's attention I highly doubt he ever had the dubious honour of having an audience, nor was he privy to the schedule and location of the Emperor. Where Palpatine was was the most closely guarded secret the Empire possessed. It could be suggested that he would visit the station, but... an actual estimated date of arrival? It...

"Sounds too good to be true..." Cassian said quietly. He was staring at the data disk protruding from the controls, as though perhaps what he had wasn't gold after all, but a serpent.

Jyn nodded, agreeing. "But... even if it is a trap, if they _are_ building another Death Star... what choice do we have?"

She was right. He nodded too, then got out of his seat, leaving the controls to the droid, ejected the data disk from the console and handed it back to her. "Keep it safe, just in case."

She nodded, took it, and tucked it into a pocket, watching him as he established a comms link with the fleet to say they had been successful, and that they were heading home. The moment he was finished, he turned to pull Jyn into his arms, and they kissed long like they'd wanted to for hours. Then they buried their faces in each other's shoulders, holding on.

"I was so worried when those Stormtroopers appeared," he admitted quietly, his fingers gripping her jacket tightly.

She nodded, pressed a kiss into his neck. "I was too." Then, to my surprise and hers, he started laughing. "What…?"

"'Is… is your foot alright?'" And his shoulders shook with mirth. She laughed too, rubbed her hand over his neck.

"I know, I couldn't help it," she admitted. She pulled back and grinned up at him. "I guess whenever we get into tight spots like that, I always think of them."

I felt their touched smiles. **You're welcome.**

Cassian smiled sadly at that, glanced at the droid in the co-pilot's seat. "Been a long time since we were in a tight spot like that," he said.

"Hmm." She leant forward until her forehead was against his chin. "I thought we were done with all of that." She peered back up at him. "What will we do when we get back? It's not over yet."

I watched his face. Watched the smile that settled. He nodded his head towards the bench, led her over to sit her down, kneeling with a wince in front of her. She chuckled teasingly; an old man joke between these two; he pinched her side gently in retaliation. The droid looked over its shoulder, as if to check that the two humans weren't actually hurting each other, and seemingly satisfied returned the majority of its attention to the controls.

"I know one thing we can do when we get back…"

"Oh?" Jyn teased, grinning. Ah... not really something that a father should have to see or hear or think about.

"Marry me."

The grin on my daughter's face froze. "Wha…?"

He grinned back at her. "I'm glad after all this time I can still surprise you." He shuffled forward, closer, took her hands and held them on her knees. "You're right. We _are_ done with this, with missions that we know we might not come back from. I don't want to lose count of the number of times we could have died. I've already lost count of the number of times I've been injured, the number of comrades I've lost."

My heart broke a little for this man. He wasn't even thirty years old, long orphaned and fighting to destroy an enemy that had ruined everything he had, but had never fought to build anything to replace what he had lost. My daughter squeezed his hands, shuffled to the edge of the seat, leant close enough to him to touch her forehead to his.

"When I took this mission I made a deal with the Council," he told her honestly. "After this… I can go whenever I want. Whenever _we_ want. I don't… I don't ever want to be separated like we were after Hoth."

"Cassian, we talked about this before," she said gently. "You had to stay, you had a job to do."

"I know," he reassured. "I know. But it was still… you were sick, and millions of miles away from me. I don't want to go through that again, and I don't want you to go through that again."

I knew what he was talking about. I'd been there, months ago in the hospital wing of the _Redemption_ , and had never felt so helpless. Jyn had made herself sicker with worry for him, every day that they were apart. She was supposed to be resting, but she could barely sleep for fear that she'd lost him. Every day she asked for news, several times, on which ships had joined the _Redemption_ , whether there was news of him. It had only been a couple of weeks, but when they were finally reunited she'd burst into tears, one of a handful of times she had ever cried since childhood. Even in his relief he'd still managed to chastise her for not recovering faster in his absence, wondering aloud why the Force was she still bed-ridden. He didn't leave the hospital wing for three days, both of them catching up on lost sleep and mutually agreeing to eat properly, finally looking after themselves for the sake of the other.

I remembered separations from Lyra, before the final one, how bitterly I felt them. I too didn't want my Jyn to feel like that again.

"Whatever we do from this point, wherever we go… it's 'we', it's together," he promised her.

He reached up briefly, wiped away the tear that she hadn't even realised was trickling down her face. She smiled, surprised at herself, took his damp hand and threaded their fingers together. She took a deep breath. "It's not over yet," she repeated, quietly, apologetically.

He nodded, understanding. "I know." He smiled at her knowingly. "Thought you'd say that. It's the Death Star; we owe it to them, to Bohdi, Chirrut, Baze, your father, to see it through. No more Jedhas, no more Scarifs, no more Aldaraans."

She nodded, smiled back, grateful that he knew her that well. I wanted to tell her - we all did - that they owed us nothing, least of all their lives, but… I know that if I had actually been there and been able to tell her that, it wouldn't have been entirely true. I didn't want her, _them_ , to live in a galaxy where that weapon existed, could always be over her head. If that meant fighting just a little longer, fighting harder than they had ever fought before… it would be worth it.

And we would be there, every step of the way, to keep them safe for as long as the Force willed us to, for as long as we willed the Force to let us. I'll always protect you, Stardust.

"Where do you want to go after?" She asked, curious.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Somewhere that's warmer than Hoth and less humid than Yavin IV? I don't mind. We'll figure that out together."

"Yes…"

He froze, trying not to grin. "… Yes?"

She nodded. "Yes."

With a happy laugh he pulled her into his arms, making her yelp as she fell off the bench. She kissed him, he kissed her back, again and again.

"Congratulations," a mechanical voice rang out. Jyn looked up from her fiancé, and gave a laugh at the droid peering over its shoulder at them.

"We need to work on your timing, K," Cassian commented with a grin, his eyes never leaving his fiancee's face.

I'm proud to say I cried then, for joy. I didn't know this, but it would not be the first time that I would be this happy. I'm so happy, my Stardust, that the Force gave you him, this man with the face of a friend.


	10. Others

JEDI

* * *

Seems like a whole other life ago. One where I wasn't a Jedi, and I was still just a kid-pilot straight out of Tatooine, trying to fit into his new shoes in an enormous Galaxy, playing at Rebel Command. In that life, I knew Jyn Erso as a contradiction: fiery, yet keen, very keen, to just get through the war with her head down but with her eyes straight up, carefully ensuring the flag over her head was the red starbird. She got on with the task we presented to her - humbly maintaining perimeter sensors - and she never had a complaint. You could almost forget that she was a hero. That were it not for her, and her father, none of us would be here. Including me.

Now there's a thought. Were it not for the machinations of Galen Erso, for her bravery in stealing the Death Star schematics, getting them to Leia, who bequeathed them to R2... I'd still be on Tatooine, staring at the two suns, dreaming big.

I did thank her, four years ago on Yavin IV, at the ceremony when I received the Medal of Bravery with Han. She and Captain Andor were there, watching from the back. They should have been at the front with us, but... well, officially they were disqualified, given that the Rogue One mission was an act of insubordination. I rather suspect they would have been honoured anyway, but looking back on it, I think that they were positioned exactly where _they_ wanted to be. He was in a wheelchair at that point, recovering from his injuries, and I had an awkward moment when I went to shake her hand to find it was in a sling. It was a humbling sight, particularly after Han and I had been showered with glory. I'd always dreamed of being a hero, and the ceremony was the culmination of that dream. For them... I couldn't begin to imagine what dreams they had had growing up.

After that I saw Jyn Erso infrequently. Leia insisted that we utilise her, that her talents not go to waste. The young woman just got on with things, and we tended to only see her when something was wrong. I'd heard about what happened to her on Hoth, that she got sick after getting caught out in a storm much like I did a week later. The last time I saw her was on the _Redemption_ , where she was still recovering whilst I had my prosthetic hand installed. I didn't get to talk much to her, partly because my mind was occupied with rescuing Han, but also because she had company the entire time. I'm glad for her, that she and Captain Andor had survived together.

I found out the most about her from an unexpected source. As Han, Leia and I prepared to leave for Endor, Lando came to us, frowning.

"Han, help me out here. Got a transfer request, you know this one?" The new temporary captain of the _Millennium Falcon_ passed my friend a pad, pointing to a specific name.

"Sergeant Jyn Erso-Andor…?" Han peered at it. I knew that look; it rang a bell. "Isn't that… isn't Jyn Erso the girl from Rogue One…? Erso-Andor, huh… guess those rumours were true after all…"

He touched the pad's screen, bringing up a picture, ignoring us as Leia explained who Rogue One was to Lando, one of the latest Alliance recruits. Han looked surprised, as though he wasn't sure his sight had really come back after all. Then he started laughing.

"What is it?" Leia asked, trying not to laugh too, albeit _at_ him. Chewie gave a grumble, looked over his partner's shoulder, and started chuckling too. "What?"

Han wiped his eyes of mirth, patted Lando's shoulder. "Take her. Little spitfire that one, you'll be fine. Just don't piss her off, girl can make a weapon out of anything." He peeled off to laugh some more. "Didn't realise that was her… that's Liana Hallik."

Lando's confused face immediately cleared, although he now looked even more worried. "Oh…"

"Han…" Leia warned, her patience tested from being kept out of the loop.

He passed the pad to her. "Chewie and I were… well, what _we_ were doing doesn't matter, but we were in this bar on the Ring of Kafrene a few years ago, and Stormtroopers raided the place. We were about to slip out the backdoor when this tiny terror gets up, asks what the problem is, and then started the _best_ bar fight I've ever took part in. She took out an entire squad with a beer bottle, one of _their_ blasters, and a vibroblade. I almost stopped to just watch…"

I peered at the image that Leia was studying, then back at Han's wistful face. I tried not to think too much of the similarities between the sergeant and the dark hair and short stature of my sister (it was still strange, too new thinking of her as that). I took the pad from her and…

And I knew instantly. "Han's right," I told Lando, who looked all the more surprised at my advice, handing back the pad to him. "The Force is strong with that one."

"Oh, well if the _Force is strong_ …" Han grumbled teasingly. I rolled my eyes, picked up another crate of blasters for the shuttle. "Hang on, give me that pad back, when did she get married…?"

I sensed Leia look to the ceiling tryingly and she grabbed his arm, pulled him away with a final good luck to Lando. "So what were you doing on Kafrene?"

"Err…"

* * *

GUARDIAN

* * *

 _Look for the Force, and you'll find me. You will find all of us._

Stay calm, Captain.

Even now, as that abomination fires at the fleet, as all hope seems lost, Little Sister is in the safest place you could possibly have placed her. Chirrut was right: her path has always been clear, and a life in Saw Gerrera's cadre could not have better prepared her for today. When she told you she needed to be aboard the _Millennium Falcon_ , when you knew it was so that she could complete her father's onus, all was as it should be. I once lost faith, but I can see it now. By the will of the Force, that ship has the greatest destiny ahead of it. She is safe, even now.

The current general of the _Falcon_ is right too; wait. The Force is strong with the team on the surface, is strong with the Princess, is strong with the Wookie, is strong even with the scruffy-looking General, whether he believes it or not. They have each other. They have all the luck they need.

Do not give in to fear. The strongest stars have hearts of kyber, and she gave hers to you. You can feel it, both under your skin and sitting above it. The necklace she gave you, that her mother gave to her to protect her. The Force protects her still. _We_ protect her.

And we protect you.

That cancerous creature there… around which the Force moves so darkly light will never pierce it… the shadows have blinded him. The light is about to shine… I never thought this day would come... _the Jedi have returned_.

So fear nothing, Little Brother, for all is as the Force wills it.

* * *

IMPERIAL ENGINEER

* * *

It's not… it's not possible… not again...

I watched, helpless, as an Alliance X-Wing fighter and a Corellian YT Freighter fired at the hyper matter reactor core, their presence impossible but...

As the inferno began, my life flashed before my eyes.

Oh Force... what a waste... I had been to many places all over the Galaxy for the Empire, met so many people... why was it only now that I realised how beautiful it had all been...?

* * *

ADMIRAL

* * *

I know that it's not quite over. That there will be plenty more fights after this.

But by Force… seeing the Death Star explode, see it spit out my pilots safely… knowing that the Emperor could not possibly have survived… _it feels over_.

It's a beautiful sight, the explosion. I know it shouldn't be, I know the cost that we have paid to see this, I know that there were hundreds of thousands of people on that station who weren't evil - I have been in this fight so long I'm not sure if 'evil' really exists, and if it does then the only one who qualified for the title is now just space dust before my eyes - who might have had families somewhere, had people who cared for them. I am sorry for that… but…

I am reminded easily of why I am not really sorry.

As my crew cheers around me, Captain Cassian Andor steps forward, his face easy to read, his hand clutching something that hangs around his neck. Gratitude swells in me: when he returned from Coruscant we all expected to say goodbye, but instead he volunteered to man the sensors, has been keeping the worse off all our backs through this battle, has kept as many of us alive as he could. I can guess what it is that he's looking for, what he needs to see with his own eyes; the _Millennium Falcon_ , in one piece.

This is why I am not sorry for the lives of stormtroopers, or of Imperial soldiers. I would regret infinitely more the loss of those that _this_ man cares for, all those that all of my men care for. Because when he sees it, when he hears General Calrissian confirm that he and his crew are fine and heading home, I don't know whether the captain's going to be sick with relief, or burst in tears. But then he turns to me, and his smile is so wide he looks ten years younger.

And I think... _this is what peace might look like, knowing that your loved ones are coming home._

* * *

HANGAR CONTROL SUPERVISOR

* * *

This time I knew who they were.

Although… alright, I didn't realise the significance when the Admiral instructed the _Millennium Falcon_ to reroute and dock with _Home One_ , instructing me to ensure there was a landing pad for them. Cut me some slack, I didn't know that she was on the _Falcon_ and he was here on the Bridge. Do I look like I have access to that kind of thing, how was I supposed to know she'd asked to be Calrissian's gunner and he on Admiral Ackbar's scanners? Last the rumour mill had it she was up the duff or they'd eloped on Bespin or something.

And everyone was already celebrating - we could see the debris of the Death Star from the Hangar - so let's be honest, we weren't paying that much attention. There was a lot of hugging going on, so what was two more people hugging?

Anyway, the _Falcon_ landed, scratched and beat to all hell but for a piece of garbage it was doing alright, it got back in one piece. The door opened, and the crowd gathered around General Calrissian, heralding the hero who lead the X-Wings into the Death Star. I admit it, I might have been part of the crowd too, until…

"Jyn!"

I recognised that voice. Don't hear many Festian accents, do you? I turned round, distracted, and saw another hero sprint out from the direction of the Bridge, his eyes scanning the crowd, shouting her name over the cheers.

"Cassian!"

I did exactly what he did; looked over at the door to the _Falcon_. She was coming down the ramp, her eyes searching for him. I saw the moment that she found him, saw her stony face light up with happiness, and I watched as she darted forward, squeezing past the people carrying the General on their shoulders.

They collided, sunk to their knees together, holding each other so tight it looked almost like it would hurt. I was close enough to see him close his eyes, see hers fill with unshed tears. They simultaneously wrenched their heads apart, smiled with unbridled happiness, and pulled the other in for a searing kiss, ignoring everyone around them.

They held each other like they were at the end of the world. And by Force, I felt jealous of them. That was how you celebrated victory.

I saw them again later, at the party on Endor. Funny really; they looked… like everyone else. I only noticed them because they were talking to an Imperial droid - the sight of it was making everyone do double-takes. They were both eating some of the food the Ewoks (I can't believe they actually exist…) had made. The droid must have said something funny; the two both started laughing, the captain nearly choking on a spoonful of something, turning red as she patted him on the back. The droid made to do the same gesture, and I chuckled as the captain wisely stepped back, a free hand waving the robot off, his eyes wide but grinning.

Then my friend, my stupid best friend who I've been working alongside for four years now, who has been lifting my spirits by burping and farting the whole way through this war, nearly spoiled the moment by punching me in the shoulder. "Isn't that Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso? You know, the ones from Rogue One?"

And I've no idea why I did this, but I did. "Who knows?" I said with a shrug. I punched him back. "Come on, let's go see if the teddy bears have any decent liquor."

I never saw them again. There's still loads of rumours about them. That they're working as spies still for the New Republic. That they got married, had half a dozen kids and live on a farm somewhere. That it's all nonsense and actually they despised each other and she went back to being a smuggler with Han Solo on the _Falcon_. Some daft idiot even reckoned she married Solo (we all know that's not true, lucky beggar married General Organa, didn't he?) and then sold him out to Jabba the Hutt (also not true, last report out of Tatooine says the Hutts are done). Another thinks it's all a piece of propaganda churned out from the Council to keep up morale, and actually they died on Scarif with the rest of Rogue One.

Who knows, maybe that last one is true, that the couple I've been seeing really are just anyone. Either way… I hope things work out for them.


	11. Mother & Daughter

Author's Note: Thank you enormously to Robinbird79 and sakurita-kiut for their reviews for Chapter 10! The email alerts made my day :-) Thanks also to those who have put an alert on my story, to those who have favourited it, and all those who have even made it this far to read this note!

I suppose I could have ended this whole thing with Chapter 10, with the testimony of a very silly supervisor and his belching friend, but... well, the end was always a little bit further along. You see, growing up with fairy tales, I always wondered what 'they lived happily ever after' actually consisted of. Isn't fanfiction the exploration of the 'ever after' bit?

At this point I do have a confession. There were some obvious cameos in Chapter 10, living characters that had actual names. The remainder, well, they hold something in common. Here are the notes I had for them.

\- The Pilot died on Alderaan, after being dispatched to the planet to support Bail Organa's retinue.  
\- The Nurse was killed sometimes between the evacuation of Yavin IV and the establishment of Echo Base on Hoth, when the ship she was serving on was caught and destroyed by the Imperial Fleet.  
\- Big Sister died on Hoth when Echo Base was invaded by Darth Vader's forces. The Keeper was also killed whilst defending the base, one of the many in the trenches.  
\- The Major met her end on Sullust, not long after transferring Captain Andor to the _Redemption_. She would have met Lieutenant Bax May, and K-9RO, before being killed in action.  
\- The Sentry took part in the Battle of Endor, one of the unnamed members of the Rebel crew who took out the shield generator. He was shot and killed by Stormtroopers.  
\- The Bartender died of injuries sustained trying to break up a fight between New Republic supporters and splintering Imperialists. In the end, no one left his bar alive that night.  
\- And as for the Ground/Hangar Control Supervisor... dumb bastard would have lived until he was a daft old man, and then die of liver failure a week before Starkiller Base went into operation.

So, having killed quite a lot of people in my own head, here's what they died for...

* * *

MOTHER

* * *

" _Come on, Jyn!_ "

I was trying… something was wrong… the medibot said there were complications… the pain… I couldn't hear through the pain…

Cassian… my... _Cassian_ … he was holding my hand, my left hand so tight… Mama's kyber crystal kept catching the light round his neck…

I wasn't strong enough… it hurt too much… I was tired… so tired…

My baby… _Force, help us_ …

 _My right hand was seized._

 _The pain vanished instantly. Cassian's voice called to me like an echo, like he was on the other side of a great canyon. I turned to my right…_

 _Mama held my hand, her grip strong, strong. She looked so beautiful, like when I was a little girl. Her hair, her skin, her eyes shone, as did her smile._

 **Trust the Force.**

 _At her side was Papa, smiling so wide it would almost split his handsome face._

 **I'm so proud of you, Stardust.**

 _Behind him was Bohdi, nodding emphatically, his lip quivering, tears streaming down his joyous face. Chirrut stared right back at me, his white eyes all-seeing. Baze smiled serenely down at me._

 **Look…** _Bohdi started to say, croaking on his tears. Oh Bohdi…_ **Look to the Force, and you will always find us.**

 _At the foot of my bed, K-9RO was helping the medibot. His blue markings round his arm-sockets glowed yellow, and his expressionless head raised, looked right at me, nodded, and then returned to the task at hand of bringing my daughter safely into the world._

 _I squeezed my Mama's hands in mine. Thank you for being here, for watching over me. For watching over us. I love you all so much..._

 _There was movement to my left -_ Cassian _\- and my parents both looked across at him, smiled all the more deeply…_ and were gone.

My husband tugged the crystal from his neck, pushed it into my fingers, and squeezed his hand round mine, the kyber strong and warm in my palm. "Jyn, come on, keep pushing, she's almost here -"

 _She_ … our daughter… our family…

I pushed. And pushed. And pushed. And cried when I heard her cries too. And then she was in my arms, in our arms. Our little creation of joy, with lots of her father's near-black hair, and my green eyes.

We had talked about what to call her. Lyra, after my mother, or Liana, after my former self. With a pang, I realised that my daughter didn't look like a Lyra or a Kestral or a Liana or a Tanith or a Nari. She didn't look like someone long gone.

I had fallen asleep, and woke to the breathtaking sight of my husband holding our daughter in his arms, singing quietly in Festian. He saw me wake, smiled that smile I love so much, kept on singing. When he ran out of lyrics I reached out, took one of her little hands with my little finger. "What were you singing?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Something I remember from when I was little. _Feliz_ , I think it was called. ' _Porque soy feliz - da palmas si te sientes como una habitacion sin tejado_ '."

She didn't look like a Feliz either. She looked like it needed to be shorter… _Fel_.

* * *

DAUGHTER

* * *

"I spy, with my little photoreceptors, something beginning with... oh!"

"Daddy, a ship!"

K-9, Anzen and I were bored. Mummy was working, and K-9 agreed that I had done enough studying today. He had been teaching me about all the planets in the Galaxy, and why Jakku was the most Force-forsaken planet of them all. Anzen, who was only a few months old, just cooed at the pictures, and giggled when we played I Spy: S for Sand, D for Destroyed Destroyer, L for Luggabeast... K-9 said he wasn't bored but I didn't believe him.

Daddy came out, smiled when he saw Anzen and I, then squinted up at the ship I was pointing at. It looked different to the ships we get on Jakku. It was smaller. The ships that came to Jakku were all big, because of the things they brought. Cargo ships, K-9 said they were, and they brought all sorts to Jakku. Medicine, tools, parts to make big machines that could do all sorts. Mummy took me with her to work a couple of times to show me, but there was a grumpy Crolute there, who wasn't very nice, and he made Mummy very angry. She called the grumpy Crolute some words that she didn't want Daddy to know she'd said in front of me, and said that it was best that I didn't see him again. The Crolute, obviously not Daddy.

"Cassian," K-9 said as Daddy knelt down to see where I was pointing. "That's Draven's ship."

"Who's Draven?" I asked. Daddy didn't say, but he didn't look very happy. Maybe Draven was like the grumpy Crolute. Daddy gave a big sigh, like he was tired, but it wasn't even lunch time yet. He then looked back at me, smiled and poked my cheeks so I would stop frowning - he looked worried, I always frown when Daddy's worried, and he always pokes my cheeks so we both stop worrying - and picked up Anzen, who gurgled happily.

"Come on, Fel, let's go inside, it's getting too hot out here."

I followed him into our home. We had moved here before Mummy and Daddy told me Anzen was coming. We live in one of the Star Destroyers, a _really_ big ship that had crashed into the sand a few years ago. A lot of people lived in the ship too; there were no houses, and Mummy said it wasn't like Jedha, where we lived before. It was more difficult to build homes for people, she said. So we all lived in the ship, but Daddy said we probably wouldn't stay here, because people kept stealing bits of the ship.

I missed Jedha sometimes. It was colder there, but too cold. People were nicer there; everyone shared more, and smiled more. On Jakku everyone seems grumpy or sad. I'm glad I have Mummy and Daddy, and K-9 and Anzen. Anzen is always happy, except when he's hungry or needing changing or wants a cuddle. K-9 said he preferred Jedha too; here on Jakku the sand gets in his joints, and people try to steal him sometimes. Someone did try to steal him when I was there once; I got very angry and started screaming, and Daddy came and brought us both back home. I don't want K-9 to be stolen. I'd miss him; other than Anzen, he's my only friend, and Anzen can't even talk yet.

"Who's Draven?" I asked again, looking way up at K-9. K-9 thought for a moment, searching. I waited. Whenever K-9 didn't answer straight away it was always because the answer was really long and complicated, so he had to figure out how to explain it to me so I would understand. Sometimes I didn't understand anyway, but that was okay.

"General Draven is... someone Cassian used to work for," K-9 said.

"Like a boss?"

"Yes."

"Is he nice?"

K-9 was searching again. "He is... agreeable to some."

I frowned at him. I didn't understand that. K-9 raised his arms up and down. He can't move his shoulders, so he shrugs by just moving his arms. I do that sometimes too; it makes Mummy and Daddy laugh. "Does Daddy like him?"

K-9 looked at Daddy. Daddy was babbling back at Anzen. K-9 looked back at me and shook his head. "Not really, no."

"Oh. Does Mummy like him?"

Daddy laughed. I think he overheard. "Definitely not," K-9 said, much more sure this time.

"Does he like Mummy and Daddy?"

K-9 stood up a little straighter, his photoreceptors focusing and refocusing. He always did this when he realised he didn't know something at all. Then he looked down at me again. "The General has never intimated to me his regard for either your mother or father. Does it concern you whether he likes your parents?"

Oh. Yes... I thought so. If he was a clever man - and generals are meant to be clever, aren't they? - he would have liked my Mummy and Daddy. I like Mummy and Daddy, and I'm not just saying that because they are my parents. If I didn't like them, I'd say that instead. No, he should have liked Mummy and Daddy. Both Mummy and Daddy worked a lot with all the ships that came in, and the people who needed what came off the ships, but whenever they were with me they always looked after me. They'd play with me, read my holo-encyclopaedias with me, tickle me and hug me and kiss me. They were fun, and whenever they couldn't have fun with me they made sure that K-9 was there, and he would teach me anything about everything. K-9 was funny, even though he didn't mean to be. He told me when Anzen was born that he had calculated the percentage of attention that he should bestow on me and the baby to ensure that I or the baby did not feel neglected. I didn't quite understand what he meant, but Mummy forbade him from telling me what the percentage was, and he hung his head with disappointment at not being able to show off his work. I forgot that I tried guessing for a while, but he told me that there were lots of very long numbers involved, longer than the ones I was guessing. He was very pleased that I made sure that all of my numbers added up though.

"Yes," I told K-9 honestly.

Daddy frowned, came over and kissed my hair. "Why would you be worried about that, Fel?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, I guess..." I didn't know. Other than the grumpy Crolute, who I think didn't like anyone, no one _didn't_ like me. Mummy and Daddy and K-9 liked me. _I_ liked me. I didn't know what it was like to not be liked, but it is important, isn't it? When we lived on Jedha, people were nice, and I liked them, and I think they liked me and Mummy and Daddy and even K-9. I think on Jakku... liking people isn't something that they do here. That wasn't so fun... I don't know what I'm trying to say. Never mind.

"I used to work with General Draven, during the war," Daddy told me. I nodded. I knew that Mummy and Daddy used to fight the Empire - on Jedha if anyone mentioned the Empire or the Emperor they would spit, I think that meant they thought that both were really bad - but they said that they would tell me more about it when I was older. "He's... he's a good man, but he's not..." And Daddy poked my cheeks again. "He's not a lot of _fun_."

"Oh." That's a shame. Sometimes when new people come off the ships they are fun, and play before they go again. "Is it okay that he's coming?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Daddy said. Then he turned to K-9. "I wonder why he's coming _here_..."

K-9 didn't know, and shrugged. Daddy gave a quiet laugh when I copied K-9, and then kissed me again. "Go on, go and have a shower - yes, don't look at me like that, you've got sand in your hair again - and then come give Daddy a hand making lunch. K-9, go with her - you know what to do - and then please message Jyn, tell her about our unexpected guest."

I ran along to the bathroom. Mummy and Daddy always gets K-9 to help me wash my hair because they know it's funny. K-9's fingers are always too scratchy and cold to massage the shampoo in for me, so he demonstrates on his own head what I should do. He doesn't use the shampoo too, because it's bad for his hull, but he makes these circular motions with his hands, and it makes him look silly. The first time he ever did it Mummy laughed really hard, so hard she said her sides hurt. Daddy said, "K-2 would _never_ have done that," and he laughed too.

They'd told me a bit about K-2SO. I never met K-2, but he used to work with Daddy, was a friend. He looked the same as K-9, although he had yellow bands round his arm-sockets instead of blue ones, and Mummy said he was ruder. I thought she meant that she didn't like him, but she said that she did, they just didn't get along at first. Daddy just shrugged at that. "Neither did I," he admitted, "K-2 just... kind of grew on me."

Daddy said once that he missed K-2SO sometimes, that having K-9 around was strange at first because they looked and sounded the same, but that K-2 would have been a _terrible_ babysitter. "At least K-9 _thinks_ about whatever comes into his circuits _before_ saying them."

That's very true. K-9 is very careful about what he says. He always tries to make sure I understand him, and he works really hard to help Mummy and Daddy with their work and things at home. When Mummy and Daddy are both busy he takes me up to the hydroponics lab on the roof, where he grows some of the things we eat. It's nice, playing up there, pretending that Big Sister - my tauntaun toy that Mummy made for me - is on a jungle planet like Dagobar.

When I was done with the shower and K-9 was satisfied that I had washed all the sand away General Draven was sitting at the table with Daddy. He stood up when I came in, running to Daddy to tell him that K-9 had detangled my hair for me and it didn't hurt that much. Daddy smiled at me, but I think he actually wanted to frown at General Draven.

General Draven - he told me to call him Davits, but I didn't want to - was very tall, taller than Daddy but not as tall as K-9, though no one is taller than K-9 except a Wookie. He was older than Daddy too. He frowned a lot, and he tried to smile at me but it just looked a bit wrong, like he was out of practice. Daddy smiled properly at me and asked me to help K-9 make tea, so I did. But I listened too.

"I'm glad to see you put the droid to good use," General Draven said, although he didn't _sound_ like he was glad of anything, and he sat down again. His chair creaked under him. It was the one that Mummy had asked Daddy to fix. I think Daddy must have offered the chair to him on purpose, none of the others creak. "Brushing hair and making tea."

I didn't like his tone, and I looked over my shoulder. I saw Daddy shrug, like he didn't care. "It was his choice to come, he didn't have to. I did tell K-9RO that any time he wants to leave he may."

"It's a _droid_ , Andor," General Grumpy said, like Daddy was an idiot. I didn't like that either. Daddy's the smartest man I know.

Daddy didn't say anything for quite some time, making General Grumpy fidget in his seat, frowning as it creaked. I saw Daddy try not to smirk. I giggled.

I helped K-9 pour the tea for Daddy and General Grumpy. I should call him Davits I suppose; he'd brought cookies from Chandrila. They were tasty. I sat at the table with Daddy. K-9 looked like he wasn't sure what he should do with himself for a moment, and then he decided to sit down too, and also listened to their conversation. General Draven looked a bit confused when he did that, but he didn't say anything.

"What have you come here for, General?" Daddy asked. I looked at him. He was sitting very straight in his seat, with Anzen fast asleep on his lap, and though he had taken a cookie it sat on the edge of his mug of tea, and he didn't move at all.

"That's a good question."

Mummy! She grinned at me as she came in, putting down her bag by the door. She ignored General Draven for a moment so she could kiss the top of my head, kiss Daddy properly, and thanked K-9 as he offered her tea too. She then took a cookie, and ate it as she waited for General Draven to answer.

"Umm... I'm not sure if..." And he looked at me quickly.

"If you have come to talk about the past, then I don't think any of us would stay at the table," Mummy said sternly, the way she talked to the Crolute a lot.

"Otherwise I think it's up to _us_ what we say in front of our children," Daddy continued.

General Grumpy stared at me, as though hoping I would leave anyway. I took another cookie. I think I saw Daddy try not to laugh. General Grumpy gave up, and took a pad out of his bag from the floor and passed it to Daddy. "I have a... proposition for you."

I looked at K-9. 'Proposition'? What did that mean? "I'll tell you later," he promised, knowing immediately that it was not a word in my vocabulary, as he likes to say. I nodded and looked back at Grumpy and Mummy and Daddy.

"Right..." Mummy said, like she didn't believe what she was hearing. "Okay... well, what is it?"

Grumpy glanced at me again, and then pointed to the pad on the table. "Please read that first. It'll be... easier to talk."

Mummy narrowed her eyes, but she nodded at Daddy, who carefully leant forward, trying not to disturb Anzen, and picked up the pad. I watched him read whatever was on it. He glanced at me too, a bit different from the way that Grumpy did, and then he passed the pad to Mummy. By the time she was done, they were both... no, I'm sure I was wrong. I thought that they had looked... well... _scared_.

"It never really ends, does it?" Mummy said quietly, and she put a hand on Daddy's shoulder, and he reached up to hold her fingers.

"Mummy?" I... they were scaring me. Why were they scared? What was scaring them? What had this horrible man shown them? "Daddy?"

They shared a look, nodded to each other. Then Daddy turned to me and smiled, but it wasn't a good smile. It was like Grumpy's smile, like he was trying and it was too difficult. "Fel, could you take Anzen with you, and help K-9 make lunch for all of us?" He then turned to K-9. "Is any of the eruca leaf ready?" K-9 calculated, and nodded. "Alright to take the kids up with you to the 'ponics lab? I think we'll need a few minutes."

"Of course," K-9 said, and stood to take Anzen from Daddy. Anzen woke briefly, pulling a face, but K-9 quickly rocked him back to sleep, ensuring the blankets were wrapped round him so he wasn't directly against the cool metal of K-9's torso. I didn't want to go, but I nodded and followed K-9. We went back up to the roof, where I helped K-9 pick the eruca leaves that were ready to eat, but we were both very quiet. Anzen made more noise than we did, playing with his planet mobile now that he was awake.

"K-9?"

"Yes, Fel?"

"What did Daddy mean when he said it was your choice to come?"

I didn't like how General Grumpy spoke about K-9. It was the way he said that K-9 was a droid. I didn't understand why he thought that meant something. We know that K-9 is a droid. I saw a few on Jedha, though not many on Jakku, and I know that droids can look very different to each other, just like people do. They all talk differently as well, and some are a lot smarter than others. Some are very basic, they don't even talk, they just do things. But K-9 wasn't like one of those. He was very, very clever, could do many, many things. He didn't _just_ brush my hair and make tea. He taught Mummy and Daddy how to teach me to read, teaches me lots of things every day. He grows food in this hydroponics lab, and tried to teach me how he balances all the things needed to make things grow (there were too many numbers involved, I got confused trying to calculate them all together). He plays games with me, looks after me and Anzen when Mummy and Daddy aren't around. He... _he was important_.

"He was referring to an occasion shortly after the Battle of Endor," K-9 said carefully, after a moment to think. "When Cassian and Jyn decided that they would go to Jedha to help with the refugee camps, they asked me if I wanted to join them. I said that would be most agreeable."

"Do you ever want to leave?" I started to cry. I... "I don't want you to leave, _you're family_..."

K-9 is never very good when I cry. He never knows what to do. He didn't know what to do then either. At first he put his hand on the top of my head, then removed it. Then he bent down, and copied Daddy. He extended a finger, and gently poked my cheeks, the left and then the right. I stopped. He had never done that before.

"I know," he said. "That is why it has never been agreeable to leave."

I hugged him then. It is always odd, hugging K-9. He's too tall to reach, even if I was as tall as Daddy, and he's too wide to get my arms around. So I just leant against his bent legs, and wrapped my arms round his knee, resting my head on the top of it. He put his hand back on top of my head, and his fingers gently patted my hair, so close to my ear I could hear the whirr of the joints.

When we went back down, Mummy was unpacking her day bag, and she frowned when she saw me. K-9 had let me stand on his feet as he walked, and I was holding on to his leg carefully, something I hadn't done in some time because I was getting too big. As K-9 imitated the noises various shuttles and fighters make when they're flying, holding Anzen out so he could pretend he was a U-Wing, Mummy bent down and gave me a hug. "Hey, what's wrong, Stardust?" I shook my head, hugging her back, but I didn't say anything. I was hoping nothing was wrong. Daddy was still talking to General Grumpy, speaking quietly so I couldn't hear, talking about things on the pad.

Mummy helped me and K-9 with lunch - our own salad with fresh maguro that Grumpy had brought with him too. I handed K-9 the eruca leaves so he could wash them properly, whilst Mummy sliced the maguro into small chunks.

"Fel, do you... do you like it here?" Mummy asked me, seriously. "On Jakku, I mean."

I thought for a moment. Did I like it on Jakku? Well... no. It was very hot and very dry, whereas Jedha had been cold, but it was easier to warm up on Jedha than it was to cool down on Jakku. And people were nicer on Jedha. The people here on Jakku were... they didn't want to be nice. They had to be told to be nice. Things were more comfortable here on Jakku, I guess. Living in the star destroyer meant we didn't live in the tents, like in the camps on Jedha, or sometimes in caves when there were windstorms. Towards the end of our time on Jedha we moved to a house in the new Kyber City, in the crater of the old Jedha City. One day Mummy and Daddy were asked to go to Jakku to help build houses there too. But I don't think Mummy and Daddy were happy here. We were happier back on Jedha. But...

"I don't mind, Mummy," I said. "As long as I have you and Daddy and K-9 and Anzen, I like Jakku just fine."

Mummy smiled. "Fel... is that a 'no'?"

I blushed. Mummy always knew when I was trying not to say I didn't like something. She tossed the maguro on to the leaves K-9 had ready. "What about you, K-9? Do you like it here?"

"No," came the immediate answer. Both Mummy and I looked surprised. "The heat is playing havoc with my internal cooling systems, and two days ago a Teedo tried to detach and make off with my head. I shoved him down the garbage chute."

I giggled. Mummy pursed her lips. I think she was trying not to laugh. "I... see. Thank you for sharing that. Umm..." And she tried very hard to look serious. "There is a chance to move away from Jakku, to another planet. Has K-9 told you about a place called Takodana?"

Yes, he had. Though he neglected to describe to me exactly how beautiful the place that would become our home was.


	12. Son

Many thanks to Isilme'sStar and Robinbird79 for their reviews of Chapter 11, they are greatly appreciated. Robin, to answer your question in your review... Fel's narrative takes place about five or six years after the Battle of Endor. I'm not entirely sure, let's just say that both Fel and Anzen are in their twenties by the time of Episode VII.

Which we're about to catch up with now.

* * *

SON

* * *

I almost never think of them separately. I've got plenty of memories that only involve one or the other - Dad playing with me and Fel when we were little, Mum teaching me how to fly the speeder when I was older - but if you ask me to specifically think of Mum, I see her with Dad, playfully threatening to tackle him (she did, many times, making Fel and I laugh so, so much). Likewise when I think of Dad, I think of him ducking and lifting Mum into a fireman's lift, laughing as she kicked and screamed for him to put her down.

I remember Dad telling Fel and I bedtime stories about how he met Mum during the war. He made us giggle by saying she was a sack full of trouble, so much trouble the Stormtroopers - always the bad guys in the stories - put her in prison, and his friends rescued her, even though she nearly beat them up with a shovel. He told us about the Death Star, that our grandpa was forced to build it, but made sure that there was a way to destroy it. He told us that Mum helped him find out that way to destroy it. He told us that Grandpa was a hero, that he had to spend years away from Mum in order to make sure that the evil Empire could be defeated, and he told us about Bohdi, Chirrut, Baze and K-2SO and what heroes they were for joining them, and that he wished we could have met them.

I remember Fel asked Mum when we were little what she had done to be put in prison. Mum glared at Dad, who tried not to laugh, and told us that she would tell us when we were older. To be fair to her, she did. Dad was right; sack full of trouble.

Mum was a good storyteller too. She told us about all the worlds they had lived on when they were trying to escape the Empire, about how cold Hoth was and how she was saved by a plucky tauntaun. Fel's favourite toy was her tauntaun; Mum made it for her, called it Big Sister after the same tauntaun. She told us about all the battles that took place, how bravely Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo fought. We asked her what she and Dad did to help them, and she tickled us, saying 'oh I'm sorry, was getting the Death Star plans, _twice_ , not enough?'. When I was older I realised that there was more to that sentiment, but to us when we were just kids she smiled like it was nothing. 'We did our bit', she said, and told us that she fixed sensors and blasters, whilst Dad monitored space to make sure they were all safe.

My Mum and Dad are heroes, but they never wanted to be. They just wanted to do their bit. I love them for that, amongst many other things.

She told us that she and Dad went to Coruscant to pick up the plans of the second Death Star, that Dad, crazy man that he was, asked her to marry him on their way back. He would always interrupt at that point, teasing her about where else he was supposed to have proposed, in the canteen? She always conceded, telling us that yes, it had been romantic, and of course she said yes; who else was supposed to stop him from doing something stupid?

She told us about the Battle of Endor; how she was asked to be the gunner of the _Millennium Falcon_ , a ship she spoke of with reverence, and Dad helped Admiral Ackbar with _Home One_ 's sensors, a man they both spoke of highly. She told us how the whole thing had been a trap, but the Alliance won anyway; that Princess Leia and Han Solo destroyed the deflector shield, that Mum's ship then flew in and blew up the Death Star from the inside.

She would always go quiet then. Fel and I didn't get it then, not really, how important it had been to her. I understood when I was older, when Dad told me more about what Grandpa went through, that for her it was about… putting an end to her father's shame, maybe? Or completing his revenge? I do understand though. I was proud of her, my brave and incredible mother, when I was only a child listening to my parents' stories. I'm still proud now as a man. Because of her, I can use the name Erso with my head held high.

The rest… well, some of it I know first hand.

After the destruction of the second Death Star, they decided to stay with the Alliance for a little longer, even though they could go whenever they wanted. They'd married within hours of Dad proposing, and both had deals with the council for their freedom, but it still wasn't over. Dad moved to Strategic Analysis, helping the Alliance plan offences against the crumbling remnants of the Empire, whilst Mum returned to weapons maintenance, moving together like nomads with the Alliance fleet.

Dad told me that when he first met Mum, when he took her to Jedha, she risked her life to save a child in the street in the middle of a firefight. After the fighting was over at the Battle of Jakku, which devastated large sections of the planet and turned it into a junkyard of destroyers and battleships, they heard rumours that some of the Partisans had managed to survive the Death Star's attack on Jedha, and were attempting to establish a new city for all those who had been displaced after the destruction of the Holy City. Dad told me that when he told Mum that, they both knew what they were going to do after that. It took several days of talking, of making sure that they were certain, and then they left the Alliance with a task-force to help the Partisans.

"Jedha… Jedha is where Bohdi was from, and Chirrut and Baze," Dad told me one day, when I was older. "It devastated them when their home was destroyed. I still remember how quiet they were on the way to Eadu. When we found out that their home was being rebuilt…" He shrugged, like it was obvious. "It just made sense to us."

Fel, my sister, was born on Jedha. She told me she still remembers it, just fragmented images; terracotta-orange hills, and how new the houses were. They didn't stay there though, there were plenty of places that needed rebuilding. I was born on Jakku, though I don't remember it at all. Fel told me they didn't like it there, the sand and heat, and the stubbornness of the scavengers. We didn't stay there; Dad said it was no place to raise a family.

Family was everything for Mum and Dad. I vaguely remember Mum being angsty when I turned six, would work out why later; Dad's family were killed when he was six years old, leading him to join the Rebellion as a child soldier, and Mum's mother was killed and her father taken by the Empire when she was six too. She made a mobile out of Grandma's kyber crystal, hung it in our bedroom so that it caught the light all through the day, would touch the crystal every night when she tucked us in bed. It didn't last forever; Dad noticed, told her not to worry. She still did worry, and he still did whatever he could to ease her mind; they were both stubborn after all. I remember one night I couldn't get to sleep so I got out of bed to find them. They were sitting on the sofa; Mum was tucked into Dad's side, his arms wrapped tight round her, his lips right by her ear so he could whisper comforts and kiss her hair. When they saw me Mum was startled, started wiping her face - I was too young and sleepy to realise she was crying - and Dad just smiled at me, came and picked me up, chastising me lightly for still being awake, and then held me up so I could pretend to be an X-Wing Fighter as he took me back to bed. Mum was a bit better after that; she laughed at the sight of us.

She was a little the same when Fel and I grew up, when we left home. She tried to hide it, but when Fel left for medical school it devastated her; I could hear her crying through their bedroom door. I was relieved when Fel visited less than a month later for a sprint of a weekend, and not just because _I_ missed my big sister too. It put the smile back on Mum's face, and consequently Dad's too. I worried about what she was like after I left for the aviation academy; I did the same as Fel, visiting as often as I could to make sure she was alright.

She asked me once, a month or so before I left, if she had been a good mother. I just looked at her, aghast, and told her she was an idiot… for ever thinking she had been anything less than a fantastic mother. It was one of the few times I saw her cry, and it was the first time I felt grown up, as silly as my response had been. I was taller than her by then, and when I hugged her, she cried into my shoulder. I understood, I really did; she had few memories of her own mother, and they were all either fraught with danger or were bittersweet, not enough to know what motherhood was supposed to be.

She was a good mother though. She loved us, my sister and I, and Dad, so much; we felt that love every day. She and Dad supported Fel when she decided she wanted to be a doctor, supported me when I wanted to be a pilot. They built us a good home on Takodana, where it wasn't too hot like Jakku and not too cold like Hoth and green without the humidity of Yavin IV. Fel and I grew up with flowers and grass under our feet, climbing trees and swimming in clean rivers. It wasn't perfect; it wasn't the luxury of Hosnian Prime or Coruscant, but we were never hungry, never wanted for anything we needed. We even had K-9, who they swiped from the Alliance when they left; he would run after Fel and I when Mum and Dad were busy working, took us to school in Andui in the shuttle, picked us up and helped us with our school work, would tell us really bad jokes.

It was more Mum's idea to steal K-9RO, Dad told us in his stories, though he certainly never objected. She asked K-9 if he wanted to come, which surprised the droid so much he nearly short-circuited, having never been asked what he 'wanted' before, and he said that that would be 'agreeable', so she went to the Council and said he was coming and that was that. K-9 helped them build houses, water tanks, power generators, recycling plants on Jedha, was one of the reasons why they didn't stay on Jakku because the scavengers kept trying to steal him. He's with Fel now, he works with her on the _Redemption_ as part of mobile hospital unit. He's pretty old now, but we did a good job maintaining him. He was always good with plants - our garden back home was essentially his, Mum and Dad knew nothing about growing flowers - so he works in Fel's botanical laboratory, researching old and new medicines.

I think that that was a good idea, letting Fel keep him. My sister is still the smartest person I know in all the Galaxy, and now that I'm older I have to admit that that was all due to K-9. Growing up with him meant that every stage of her intellectual development was advanced far beyond any average, and she took after Dad a bit more in that you never wanted to play chess with either of them because losing was a foregone conclusion. My whole childhood she was constantly asking K-9 about things that only he could store in his data-banks. As for K-9, he adored my sister. I know that he's a droid, that most will scratch their heads at the concept of an old Imperial security droid adoring anything, but with our family... K-9 had some amazing byproducts of reprogramming, I guess. I think that he was always trying to be more like K-2SO, the droid from Dad's stories, even though Dad said he never needed to do that. K-2SO would have been terrible with children, he was too cynical, Dad used to saying, laughing at the notion. K-9 however was inquisitive, curious, even more anxious than Mum. He used to calculate the probability of me falling if I climbed particular trees, so naturally I would climb every one. I did fall on occasion, but he always worked out exactly where he needed to be to catch me, so it was fine.

I'll see her soon. It's been too long. I'm so proud of her, my swot of a sister. She got married a couple of years ago, to a fellow doctor called Diana. They had a lovely wedding; I remember they both got sloshed on Corellian wine, and Diana drunkenly thanked my parents for bringing her bride into the world and showing them both what kind of marriage they wanted to have. I'd never really thought of it before she said that, but she had a good point. Probably why I'm still single; haven't found the right girl to love the way that Dad loves Mum, or the right girl who'd love me the way Mum loves Dad.

I think that's why when I think of my parents, I think of _them_ , not them separately. I think of the way Dad always looks at Mum, like she's the most beautiful creature he's ever seen, and how she looked at him, like she never admired anyone more. I don't think a single day went by in my childhood where they didn't kiss each other or hug each other. Certainly they made sure to kiss and hug us, Fel and I, every day, even when we got older and said it was embarrassing. They argued over the things that were important, and teased each other over the things that weren't. I remember how much they missed each other the few times they were separated, one of them gone for business for a couple of days, and how passionate they were when they welcomed each other home, even though they weren't young anymore, even though they both had wrinkles and grey hair and lumpy bodies.

If there was one memory that I had to pick, if some reason I could only have one, it… difficult actually, choosing. It would either be that time when Dad and Fel did a piggy-back race, with me on Fel's back and Mum on his, all of us laughing across the field outside our house, or it would be the last time I saw them. I landed the shuttle in that same field, saw them sitting together on the bench, not an inch between them, in the garden that looked over. Maybe it was because I was young, but I couldn't help but think that age had caught up with them in my absence from home. Dad was now sixty, and he looked it; his hair, whilst still thick, was white, and age had put weight on him. His leg that he had injured over thirty years ago always ached now, and at the end of the day he had to use a stick. Mum seemed to have become even shorter, her hair dark grey, still pulled into the same knot, her hands frail. They still looked at each other the same, still stole kisses whenever they made each other laugh, which they still could.

We had a good catch up; I reassured them that I hadn't seen much action yet, and had been helping the Resistance set up their base on D'Qar. I told them about my last girlfriend, how it didn't work out. I told them I was eating well. And they finally told me what I had suspected; that they had moved to Takodana to keep an eye and ear on the traffic through Maz Kanata's castle, and passing on intel on the remaining splinters of the Empire to the Resistance. I had always wondered what Dad was working on in the shed: he was one of many listening outposts that the Resistance had placed across the Galaxy. They would be visiting Hosnian Prime in a few days to give a report to the Senate on the emergence of the First Order.

We had a good dinner, sitting round the same table we had eaten round since I was too small to sit at it properly. I slept in my old room, the extension that they had built with K-9 when Fel and I got too old to be sharing anymore. Mum's kyber crystal now hung in the garden, as part of a wind-chime that Dad had made for her. When I left I kissed and hugged them both, told them I loved them. They both told me they were proud of me, proud of Fel and Diana, asked me to send my love to them if I saw them first.

When Starkiller Base fired on the Hosnian system I really hope that… I don't know what I hope… oh Force...

* * *

One last chapter to come.


	13. Husband

Final chapter, everyone.

Some fun facts: Fel is named, effectively, after her mother. Anzen has a different source for his name: put it into Google translate for Japanese.

* * *

HUSBAND

* * *

This isn't so bad.

This morning I woke up exactly where I was supposed to be, next to my wife. It's been over thirty years, and I still smile every time I wake up next to her. I had good dreams; I was sitting on the bench in the garden, and the kids were little again. Anzen was sitting on K-9's shoulders, the droid running after a giggling Fel, his arms stretched forward, pretending to be an U-Wing for my son. My Jyn was there, tucked under my arm, young again. I woke to the immediate sight of her face, older now but still as beautiful.

I slipped my arm out from under her, pulled the covers over her. We had made love last night - we're not _that_ old - and I nearly tripped on our clothes on the floor next to the bed. I went to the bathroom, chuckled at the old man in the mirror.

I remembered a very different reflection. A thinner, younger man, with hollows around his eyes, unable to believe he was still alive, that he was _that_ lucky. My hair might have been brown still rather than white, but the wrinkles on my face were not from smiling too much. Although, that night perhaps that might have been true. Behind my reflection was Jyn, my sheets pooled around her hips, sleeping like now.

Ah, our first night. I can't help but smile at how awkward it was; we'd had to wait for our injuries to make some progress, and my ribs were still feeling sore, my leg no longer in its cast but still painful, and her wrist was in a sleeve to support it. The first time was over too fast - it had been a long time in the making for us, and we were both full of nerves. We talked after, with naked honesty. She told me about Hadder, a boy she had had feelings for five years before, and a handful of other men with whom sex had been an advantage. I told her the truth; that I'd never cared about any woman until her, but had shared plenty of beds and dark corners since I was a teen, that sex was just a way to blow some steam, a more carnal way of pinching myself to remember I was alive.

The second time was better, _much_ better. And, in the morning, after I got back into bed next to her, the third time. I lost count within a week. I know I'm an old man, and I should be wiser for it, but it still makes me happy to know that I was the only one who ever made Jyn scream in pleasure.

What a life we have had. I remember muttering to Chirrut and Baze that I was beginning to think that the Force and I had different priorities. I've had nearly thirty five years to be grateful that I was wrong.

You were right, Chirrut. You already know this, but I escaped that prison a long time ago. And freedom has been… oh, it has been so good. The first lock to go was on that beach, on Scarif, when I thought our chances were spent, the second I held Jyn's hand in mine for the first time.

Thank you, all of you. Jyn and I should have died that day; everything that I hold dear - our marriage, our children, the future we hope for them - all of it… we would never have had any of it were it not for your will. I know you heard me say it in life; I'll say it again now. _Thank you, thank you, thank you_.

I'm grateful that there are some things I don't need to worry about. Our daughter Fel was off planet, with the _Redemption_ ; we had half hoped to cross paths with her here on Hosnian Prime. She has Diana and K-9, she won't be alone when the news comes. She'll take care of Anzen, our son, although perhaps it will be the other way round. I'm so proud of them. I hope we told them that enough times in life, that they won't ever doubt it. I hope that they're wise enough to not tread the path that I took after my parents were killed, seeking revenge and forgiveness even though I would never truly find either.

Part of me is angry, really angry. After all we went through, after all we faced and vanquished, this isn't the way I wanted to go, definitely isn't the way I wanted Jyn to go. I suppose I'm glad we don't need to worry any more about outliving the other, of burying the other and waiting to join them, that when death came in a red flash I still had a chance to hold Jyn in my arms one last time, but… we faced down the mushroom cloud of the Death Star twice. It… it's not fair.

You would have been able to see our deaths from our house… oh Force…

I'm glad you're all here. Thank you for always looking over us, for being here now with us. I'm glad that we made you proud over the years. Bohdi, you in particular; Jyn and I would probably never have met were it not for your bravery, and Anzen always credits the stories we told him of you to his profession of choice. He said being sat all by yourself in the seat of an X-Wing sounded too lonely; being a cargo pilot meant you got to meet and see all sorts. Well, I'm sure you heard him at the time.

I remember Anzen say that when he was helping me cook dinner. Winter was coming in, the wind picking up and whistling around our house. Despite that it was warm inside Fel was reading on a pad by the fire, asking K-9 what some of the longer words in the encyclopaedia meant, and then what some of the words in his explanation meant too. Jyn was making her way home from Maz's hangar, where she worked as a mechanic, charging passing-by ships for repairs and maintenance, listening for news. Anzen and I were making her favourite stew to warm Mum up when she got home. And I looked down at him - he had to stand on a stool to reach the cooker - and across at my clever girl, and couldn't help but be reminded that both of them had been born in tents, in the refugee camps on Jedha and Jakku, and now we all lived in a house on this beautiful green planet. I felt like I was a good father then, I was proud of myself then.

So many memories… all these snapshots of our lives together. I'm so glad I have these. If I had died on Scarif, what would I be looking back on then? Twenty years of orders I'd regret obeying, of always losing people, never gaining anyone. The best moments to remember would have been the last, of her smile when she saw I was still alive at the top of that tower, of admiring her as the lift descended, of her strength as she helped me limp to the beach.

My last moments now… before the inferno, they were not too bad. The end of a long day; we'd had breakfast, endured meeting after meeting arguing over the same thing - whether war was on the horizon once again, whether the emerging First Order was truly a threat to the peace - and then finally got some time to ourselves. We went to explore; Jyn had never been, and I think it must have been four decades since I had been to Republic City. We got to see the Hanging Gardens; the flowers made me think of our garden back home that K-9 had spent years cultivating, made me feel homesick. When the end came we were taking a stroll along the bay.

I would rather forget the fear in Jyn's face when we realised what the approaching light was. There are plenty of moments I'd rather not waste eternity thinking of; this I think will remain the one I want to forget the most. I must have looked terrified too - I was terrified. I thought of our children, and begged the Force that what was about to happen to us was not happening to them.

We'll make sure of it, Jyn and I. I guess we're one with the Force now, and the Force is with us.

Jyn. My beautiful Jyn. If I didn't tell you enough times in life how much I love you, I now have infinity to keep telling you. I loved you on that cursed beach. I loved you when I woke up in the hospital on Yavin IV, your hand holding mine. I loved you when the first Death Star was destroyed, when we kissed for the first time and watched the suns of Yavin rise together. I loved you as we darted across the Pantora System, still healing. I loved you on Hoth, when I nearly lost you to the ice storms. I loved you when you stubbornly came with me to Coruscant to pick up the Bothans' intelligence. Of course I loved you when you accepted my proposal on the way home, when you married me within hours of docking, our only witness K-9. I loved you as we fought against the second Death Star. I loved you when we decided to go back to Jedha, when you told me that we were going to have Fel, when she was born. I loved you when you told me that she would have a brother, Anzen, when he was born on Jakku. I loved you when we agreed that that horrible place wasn't the home for us, when we agreed we needed somewhere green, somewhere temperate and peaceful. I loved you as our hair greyed and mine whitened. I loved you as our children grew to become the strong, smart, funny and loving, beautiful people that they are. I loved you when it became just us again, every time you smiled and kissed me when you came home, every night when we went to sleep side by side and every morning woke even closer together.

I love you for loving me, even though once I had nightmares of all the things I had done, all the lives that I've ruined and ended that didn't deserve to be. I love you for forgiving me for lying to you about my mission, all those years ago. I love you for knowing that I have never lied to you again since, and never will. I love you for admiring me, wanting me, caring for me. I love you for giving me all of the things that have ever meant the most to me. I love you for supporting me, for always having my back. I love your smile, your laugh, even your scowl.

I cannot fathom eternity without you, Jyn.

 _I know_.

* * *

So...

I got asked how I was going to tie in with Episode VII. Well... this was always my answer. They had over thirty years of chances, they had to spend them all eventually, or rather bequeath them to the next generation. They spent their chances well.

This story actually came from a very specific motivation. I'm half-Japanese, through my mother's grandparents. The waves of destruction on Jedha and Scarif will always resonate with me, even though I have no direct claim to it. This story started out as a wish to try and make something good out of something I abhor. I apologise for the political note, but... it should never be forgotten that in Star Wars, _the bad guys are the ones who use weapons of mass destruction_.

Thank you for reading my story. Please write me a review to let me know what you think. This will be re-edited at some point, just to correct the odd little bit or change a line I wasn't happy with. Otherwise, it has been a pleasure writing this, and I look forward to reading other stories. GotH x


End file.
